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3   1822  01223  6832 


TKe  Philosopher's 
Martyrdom. 


OOK  SHOP 


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LIBRARY 

MMVECttTY  *f 
CM.IFORNU 

SAN  DiEGO 


BEBTFAN 

BO- 

14CPA"f 

,    BF.A<  H 


t  RsnvtrBiwRf 

UNu.n...i  U  CALkORNlA,  SAN  DIEfiO 
LA  JOLLA,'  CALIFORNIA 


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3   1822  01223   boo^ 


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Chicago 

The  Open  Court  Publishing  Co. 

London  Agents:    Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Trubner  &  Co.,  Ltd. 

1908 


Copyright,  1908, 

BY 

The  Open  Court  Publishing  Co. 


CONTENTS : 

PAGE 

Preface iii 

The  Philosophers'  Club I 

Mr.  Agnosco's  Ethics 12 

At  Home -  21 

The  Seance 0  27 

Adjourned  sine  die 36 

The  Greatest  Number 43 

The  Temptation 50 

Further  Developments 58 

Faithful  to  the  End 65 


PREFACE. 


AGNOSTICISM  is  the  philosophy  of  the 
Lpresent  age,  which  is  a  period  of  transi- 
tion, and  being  such  it  will  prove  transient.  I 
do  not  deny  that  there  is  a  certain  truth  under- 
lying the  principle  of  agnosticism,  otherwise 
it  could  never  have  gained  the  influence  which 
it  exercises  over  so  many  thinking  minds,  but 
this  underlying  truth  has  never  been  pointed 
out  by  any  agnostic  thinker,  least  of  all  by 
their  chief,  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer, — not  even 
by  Mr.  Huxley  whose  high  rank  as  a  scientist 
no  one  will  doubt.  I  do  not  deny  the  many 
excellent  qualities  by  which  Mr.  Spencer, 
the  representative  of  agnosticism,  is  distin- 
guished, but  leaving  out  all  personal  matters, 
I  insist  at  the  same  time  that  agnosticism 
with  all  that  it  implies  acts  upon  the  mind  as 
does  a  blight  upon  our  wheat  fields. 

Agnosticism  is  a  declaration  of  bankruptcy 
in  philosophy,  it  acts  as  a  brake  upon  the 
wheels  of  the  advancement  of  scientific  prob- 
lems (note  for  instance  Mr.  Spencer's  declara- 


iv        the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

tion  that  any  investigation  of  the  origin  of 
organic  life  must  be  useless ! )  and  it  proposes 
an  utterly  wrong  maxim  of  ethics.  In  fact  it 
destroys  the  very  principle  of  morality  by  re- 
placing it  with  the^  pursuit  of  happiness,  and 
even  with  its  principle  of  happiness  it  does  not 
propose  to  establish  a  qualitative  but  a  quanti- 
tative appreciation  of  happiness,  as  if  the 
nature  of  goodness  could  ever  consist  in  num- 
bers !  If  the  qualitative  appreciation  of  happi- 
ness had  been  thought  of  it  would  have  shown 
that  not  happiness  is  desirable  but  a  certain 
quality  of  happiness  which  would  have  led  back 
to  the  old-fashioned  ideal  of  duty ;  and  instead 
of  tearing  down  the  ideal  of  duty,  a  progressive 
philosophy  would  simply  have  revised  our 
standard  of  valuation,  our  ideal  of  goodness, 
our  conception  of  worthiness,  and  the  aims  of 
a  worthy  life. 

Hedonism  in  any  form  is  practically  denial 
of  all  morality.  Bentham's  egotistical  hedon- 
ism is  immoral  but  logical.  Mr.  Spencer's 
hedonism,  aiming  at  the  greatest  happiness  of 
the  greatest  number,  is  illogical  without  there- 
by becoming  moral.  Why  shall  I  sacrifice  my 
happiness  for  the  happiness  of  others,  be  they 
few  or  many  ?  And  suppose  the  majority  to 
be  villains,  what  then?  Was  it  truly  right 
that  Socrates  should  drink  the  cup  of  hemlock, 


PREFACE.  V 

because  such  was  the  pleasure  of  five  hundred 
judges  in  Athens  which  at  that  time  was  guided 
by  infamous  and  thoughtless  rascals  ?  No ! 
and  a  hundred  times  no  1 

The  question  of  right  conduct  lies  deeper 
than  our  agnostic  friends  assume.  The  prob- 
lem of  moral  goodness  is  closely  connected 
with  our  conception  of  the  nature  of  truth. 
Principles  of  moral  conduct  always  reflect  our 
view  of  life  ;  they  are  a  practical  application  of 
our  world-conception.  We  believe  in  the  pos- 
sibility of  truth  and  the  usefulness  of  science. 
We  reject  most  emphatically  the  philosophy 
of  nescience.  Problems  can  be  stated  and 
solved,  and  the  correct  solution  of  a  problem  is 
not  merely  an  opinion  that  has  gained  cur- 
rency but  truth,  i.  e.,  a  statement  which  is  an 
adequate  description  of  facts  ;  and  truth  is  pos- 
sible, truth  is  not  a  mere  subjective  illusion. 

Would  the  product  of  any  calculation  be- 
come right  because  it  was  the  result  of  a 
majority  of  school  boys, — or  even  of  learned 
scholars  ?    No,  and  a  hundred  times  no ! 

We  can  not  always  change  qualities  into  mere 
quantities,  nor  substitute  pleasure  and  happi- 
ness for  goodness,  nor  measure  truth  by  major- 
ity decisions. 

The  present  story  is  a  tale  with  a  moral. 
The  story  is  humorous  but  the  lesson  is  serious. 


vi        the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

It  is  a  satire,  which  has  been  written  to  point 
out  the  fallacies  of  agnosticism,  and  it  indi- 
cates that  a  better  philosophy  is  possible. 
How  the  author  wishes  that  the   hints   here 

given  may  be  taken  to  heart ! 

p.  c. 


SOME  YEARS  ago  a  philosophical  interest 
was  awakened  in  America.  People  began 
to  study  philosophy  with  a  zeal  characteristic 
of  all  the  enterprises  of  the  western  world,  and 
philosophical  clubs  were  established  all  over 
the  land. 

At  last  the  climax  of  civilization  had  been 
reached,  for  philosophy  stood  for  the  sum-total 
of  all  wisdom.  Every  little  town  had  to  have 
a  philosophical  club.  There  had  been  literary 
clubs,  sociological  and  political  clubs,  anthro- 
pological clubs,  art  clubs,  theatrical  clubs, 
Delsarte  clubs,  and  all  kinds  of  clubs,  but  a 
philosophical  club  was  something  entirely  new, 
and  so  there  was  some  difficulty  in  starting  it. 
In  the  old-fashioned  clubs  there  was  always 
something  tangible.  The  members  collected 
Indian  arrowheads,  or  Chinese  crockery,  or 
they  posed  in  pathetic  attitudes  and  discussed 
principles  of  esthetics.  But  philosophy  was 
so  intangible  and  abstract,  that  it  would  not 
lend  itself  easily  as  a  fit  object  for  the  interest 


2         the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

of  fashionable  society.  This  difficulty  how- 
ever only  added  a  peculiar  zest  to  the  new  fad 
and  the  leaders  of  the  movement  knew  how  to 
deal  with  it.  They  got  hold  of  a  few  musty 
generalities  mainly  such  as  had  a  slight  crack 
in  them.  As  cracked  china  is  always  more 
valuable  when  it  is  old,  why  should  not  a  phil- 
osophical idea,  in  the  same  predicament,  also 
be  more  valuable  ?  But,  of  course,  it  must,  at 
first  sight,  be  pathetic,  overawing,  and  impos- 
ing— something  sublime  beyond  the  compre- 
hension of  any  ordinary  mortal,  and,  if  possible, 
something  actually  unthinkable. 

Thus  the  movement  was  started  and  resulted 
in  a  philosophical  epidemic  which  thrilled  all 
the  people  who  caught  the  infection  like  a  fever. 
They  walked  as  in  a  dream.  They  regarded 
themselves  as  torch  bearers  of  a  great  idea,  and 
the  establishment  of  philosophical  clubs  cre- 
ated at  once  an  intellectual  aristocracy.  No 
wonder  that  the  craze  swept  with  rapidity 
over  the  whole  country  and  extended  also  be- 
yond the  Atlantic  to  England  and  to  the  Anglo- 
American  colonies  on  the  European  continent. 

In  one  of  the  large  capitals  in  Europe  a  phil- 
osophical club  was  founded,  the  president  and 
leader  of  which  was  Mr.  Charles  Green,  the  son 
of  an  American  father  and  a  French  mother. 

Mr.  Charles  Green  opened  the  first  meeting 


THE  PHILOSOPHERS'  CLUB.  3 

of  the  new  club  with  a  reading  from  Mr.  Her- 
bert Spencer's  First  Principles.  He  expounded 
them  brilliantly.  No  divine  ever  explained  the 
Bible  better  than  he  set  forth  the  unfathomable 
depths  of  the  prophet  of  a  new  dispensation. 
He  read  repeatedly  the  concluding  words,  as 
though  he  wanted  his  audience  to  memorize 
them.  "  Here,  then,"  he  emphasized,  u  is  an 
ultimate  religious  truth  of  the  highest  possible 
certainty — a  truth  in  which  religions  in  gene- 
ral are  at  one  with  each  other,  and  with  a  phil- 
osophy antagonistic  to  their  especial  dogmas. 
And  this  truth,  respecting  which  there  is  a 
latent  agreement  among  all  mankind  from  the 
fetish-worshiper  to  the  most  stoical  critic  of 
human  creeds,  must  be  the  one  we  seek — the 
Power  which  the  universe  manifests  to  us  is 
utterly  inscrutable." 

The  speaker  dwelt  on  the  fact  that  the  deepest 
wisdom  lies  in  ignorance.  A  philosopher  is  he 
who  is  not  ashamed  to  confess  his  ignorance 
in  plain  terms.  "Why,  then,  my  friends," 
he  said,  "Why  not  confess  our  ignorance?  Is 
it  so  difficult  to  part  with  the  vain  idea  that  we 
know  something?  No,  it  is  not.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  is  a  very  pleasant  idea,  for  we  know 
that  all  knowledge  is  vanity.  Consider  only 
that  the  greatest  scientist  who  has  plodded 
through  a  whole  life  to  find  the  truth,  and  has 


4  THE  PHILOSOPHER'S  MARTYRDOM. 

accumulated  an  enormous  stock  of  knowledge, 
is,  after  all,  a  shallow  ignoramus.  His  knowl- 
edge is  not  philosophical  knowledge.  It  is 
good  enough  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  it  is  of  an 
inferior  kind.  The  wiseacre  of  a  specialist 
makes  petty  discriminations  but  is  unable  to 
appreciate  the  importance  of  generalization. 
And  the  most  universal  of  all  generalizations 
to  which  a  philosopher  only  can  attain,  is  the 
truth  that  the  world-mystery  is  transcendent ; 
and  it  is  not  a  relative,  but  an  absolute,  mys- 
tery. I  plead  with  you  to  throw  off  all  the 
vanity  of  pretended  knowledge,  and  the  hope 
that  science  can  accomplish  anything  worth 
mentioning,  for  nothing  can  replace  the  grand 
revelation  of  our  eternal,  irredeemable  igno- 
rance. Throw  off  all  false  pride  ;  turn  philos- 
ophers, and  let  us  commemorate  this  memor- 
able day  on  which  we  started  this  glorious 
philosophical  movement,  as  the  day  of  our 
second  birth." 

Here  he  assumed  a  dramatic  attitude  that 
he  had  inherited  from  his  French  mother. 
u  Let  us  celebrate,"  he  continued,  "  this  great 
event,  by  turning  over  a  new  leaf,  and  pledge 
ourselves  to  become  and  to  remain  philoso- 
phers forever  ;  to  live  and  die  philosophers, 
adopting  the  great  truth  of  agnosticism.  I 
shall,  in  this  holy  hour,  change  my  name  and 


THE  philosophers'  club.  5 

call  myself  Ernest  Agnosco — Ernest,  in  order 
to  denote  that  I  am  serious  in  becoming  a  phi- 
losopher, and  Agnosco,  to  express  my  reverence 
for  the  greatest  of  all  truths  and  the  most 
general  of  all  generalizations.  My  creed  be 
henceforth  that  there  is  no  wisdom  except  in 
an  unfeigned  confession  of  ignorance." 

The  members  of  the  club  were  carried  away 
with  Mr.  Green's  eloquence,  and  they  praised 
his  truly  Socratic  wisdom.  Several  resolutions 
were  made  in  the  spirit  of  his  address,  and  all 
of  them  were  adopted. 

The  motions  might  have  been  passed  unan- 
imously, if  it  had  not  been  for  one  single 
exception.  One  of  the  members,  M.  Francois 
Chevalier,  was  of  a  sarcastic  turn  of  mind.  He 
was  the  jarring  element  in  that  glorious  meet- 
ing, a  kind  of  Mephisto,  and  many  thought  it 
a  pity  that  he  had  joined  the  club.  We  are 
impartial  enough  to  say  that  it  was  well  he 
joined,  for  difference  of  opinion  is  the  salt  of 
life  and  even  in  things  evil  there  is  something 
good. 

Monsieur  Chevalier  sneered  at  the  idea  that 
a  philosophy  of  nescience  could  accomplish 
anything  useful,  and  he  proposed  the  imperti- 
nent question,  how  Mr.  Green — alias  Mr. 
Agnosco — could  manage  to  live  according  to 
his  principle.     Monsieur  Chevalier  confessed 


6        the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

that  we  knew  very  little,  but  what  little  knowl- 
edge we  had  was  the  basis  of  our  conduct,  of 
our  achievements  in  practical  life,  and  of  our 
ethics.  Philosoph}',  if  it  is  to  be  of  any  pur- 
pose at  all,  must  be  applicable  to  practical  life. 

Monsieur  Chevalier's  opposition  created  a 
sensation,  and  it  almost  threatened  to  bring 
about  a  schism.  Not  that  any  one  agreed  with 
him,  but  they  differed  among  themselves  in 
refuting  his  proposition.  Some  thought  that 
philosophy  was  not  to  be  applied  to  practical 
life.  Philosophy  is  too  grand,  too  sublime. 
Others  declared  that  philosophy  afforded  all 
that  could  be  desired,  for  it  lifted  the  members 
of  the  philosophical  club  at  once  above  the 
mediocrity  of  mankind,  and  opened  a  field  of 
vision  from  the  height  of  the  largest  of  all 
generalizations. 

There  was  among  the  members  of  the  club 
a  stumpy  young  man  of  Dutch  extraction 
whose  name  was  Thomas  Driest.  His  lively 
little  eyes,  deep-socketed  underneath  a  large 
and  bony  forehead,  had  been  riveted  with  keen 
interest  upon  each  successive  speaker,  and  now 
that  he  rose  to  his  feet  he  betrayed  an  unusual 
fanaticism.  He  almost  quivered  with  impa- 
tience as  though  he  could  no  longer  control 
the  passionate  outburst  of  his  conviction.  He 
addressed  Monsieur  Chevalier  personally  and 


THE  PHILOSOPHERS'  CLUB.  7 

said  ' '  By  way  of  introduction  I  will  state  at 
once,  Monsieur,  that  I  am  a  socialist." 

"Thank  you  for  the  information,"  replied 
Monsieur  Chevalier.  ' '  It  means  that  whatever 
business,  profession  or  trade  you  may  have 
embraced  you  made  a  failure  of  it." 

"Say  rather,"  retorted  the  stumpy  young 
man  with  a  flash  in  his  eye  directed  at  his 
opponent,  "that  I  belong  to  the  large  mass  of 
the  discontented  and  my  profession  is  that  of 
a  reformer.  Most  assuredly  there  is  something 
wrong  with  the  social  order  which  is  cunningly 
arranged  so  as  to  favor  the  unscrupulous  and 
drive  the  good  and  the  honest  to  the  wall.  All 
your  boasted  Universities  and  institutions  of 
learning  are  in  the  paid  service  of  capital. 
They  obscure  the  real  issue  of  a  just  distribu- 
tion of  the  products  of  labor  and  thrash  out  the 
straw  of  hollow  theories.  I  challenge  our  phi- 
losophers," he  shouted  at  the  top  of  his  voice, 
' '  to  drop  all  quibbles  of  metaphysics  and  re- 
spond first  to  the  demand  of  the  people.  I  hail 
agnosticism  as  a  relief  from  tyranny  of  the 
schools,  for  it  disposes  of  all  philosophy  in  a 
most  direct  and  summary  fashion. v 

Turning  again  to  Monsieur  Chevalier,  he 
asked  whether  he  had  ever  heard  of  Socrates 
who  was  deemed  wise  because  he  owned  he 
was  ignorant.    Nor  was  this  grand  philosophy 


8        the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

of  nescience  without  its  practical  application. 
He  should  remember  the  bequest  of  the  great 
Voltaire,  which  was  condensed  in  the  words 
forasez  V infante!  The  old  gnosticism  had 
been  in  power  long  enough.  It  had  built 
cathedrals  and  established  thrones,  but  the  age 
of  agnosticism  was  now  dawning  upon  man- 
kind. "  Here  lies  the  practical  application  of 
agnosticism  "  shouted  Monsieur  Driest,  wildly 
gesticulating  with  his  arm,  as  if  he  wanted  to 
assault  Monsieur  Chevalier,  "  Agnosticism 
will  tear  down  the  pretensions  of  priest  and 
prophet.  They  talk  about  things  such  as  God, 
the  soul,  and  immortality,  of  which  no  one 
knows  anything,  of  which  no  one  can  know 
anything.  They  are  frauds!  and  remember 
Voltaire's  advice  kcrasez  Vinfame!" 

Monsieur  Chevalier  replied  calmly,  "If  no 
one  can  know,  how  is  it  possible  for  you  to 
know  that  the  priests  are  wrong?  It  seems  to 
me  agnosticism  will  furnish  the  best  support 
for  any  superstition  because  in  the  realm  of  the 
unknowable  all  theories  are  equally  admis- 
sible." 

"Oho!  "  cried  Monsieur  Driest,  "You  are 
a  reactionary  and  a  defender  of  superstition. 
Mind  you  that  gnostics  claim  to  know,  while 
agnostics  freely  own  their  ignorance.  Gnostics 


THE  PHILOSOPHERS'  CLUB.  9 

are  false  pretenders,  agnostics  in  their  confes- 
sion of  ignorance  are  genuine." 

Monsieur  Chevalier  forgetful  of  all  parlia- 
mentary order,  laughed  heartily,  "Yes,"  he 
said,  "if  their  ignorance  be  genuine." 

Here  was  a  lull  in  the  debate,  for  Monsieur 
Driest  felt  that  his  adversary  had  made  a  thrust 
at  him,  but  he  was  not  quick  enough  to  under- 
stand its  meaning.  Monsieur  Chevalier  then 
added  in  a  semi-conversational  tone,  "Mon- 
sieur Driest 's  reference  to  Socrates  reminds 
me  of  Schiller's  distich, 

"Pythia  dubbed  him  a  sage, 
When  of  ignorance  boldly  he  boasted. 
Friend,  how  much  wiser  art  thou  ! 
What  he  pretended,  thou  art." 

Monsieur  Driest  was  boiling  with  indigna- 
tion and  Mr.  Agnosco  resented  the  unparlia- 
mentary remark,  but  Monsieur  Chevalier 
assured  him  that  his  quip  was  harmless  and 
should  not  be  taken  as  personal.  This  expla- 
nation was  given  in  a  gentlemanly  way  and 
with  so  much  courtesy  that  Monsieur  Driest 
calmed  down  and  took  his  place  again. 

At  this  juncture  Mr.  Agnosco  noticed  the 
presence  of  Professor  Le  Clair,  of  the  Sor- 
bonne,  and  called  upon  him  for  his  views.  The 
Professor,  however,  declined  to  commit  him- 
self saying  that  he  did  not  intend  to  join  the 


10         THE  PHILOSOPHER'S  MARTYRDOM. 

club,  for  he  believed  in  the  cultivation  of  sci- 
ence. He  knew  that  there  was  also  nescience, 
and  he  himself  had  plenty  of  it ;  but  for  his 
own  part  he  tried  to  get  rid  of  his  share,  and 
so  his  philosophy  could  only  be  a  philosophy 
of  science,  not  of  nescience;  it  should  be  a 
general  survey  of  all  the  sciences,  especially 
an  explanation  of  knowledge  itself  and  the 
methods  pursued  in  scientific  enquiry. 

No  one  contradicted  and  no  one  assented, 
and  all  discussion  ceased  for  the  time. 

Mr.  Agnosco  took  the  word  once  more  and 
declared  that  many  good  ideas  had  been  uttered 
by  all  the  speakers.  Although  he  disapproved 
of  the  attitude  of  his  friend  Monsieur  Chevalier, 
he  felt  under  obligations  to  him  for  some  sug- 
gestions. He  had  to  confess  in  all  sincerity 
that  there  was  an  inkling  of  truth  in  his  re- 
marks concerning  the  applicability  of  philo- 
sophical truth.  Philosophy  must  become  prac- 
tical, and  he  himself  meant  to  apply  philosophy 
to  practical  life.  "But,"  said  he,  "in  the 
enthusiasm  for  the  great  cause  we  have  for- 
gotten the  limit  that  time  imposes  upon  all 
finite  beings."  And  so  he  suggested  that  a 
motion  to  adjourn  was  in  order,  proposing  at 
the  same  time  to  study  in  the  next  session,  the 
ethics  of  agnosticism.  "  The  best  book  on  the 
subject,"  he  added,   u  is  Mr.  Spencer's  Data 


THE  philosophers'  club. 


11 


of  Ethics.  A  perusal  of  this  great  work  will 
teach  us  that  agnosticism  is  in  possession  of 
ethics.  As  yet  men  of  science  are,  at  best, 
only  very  superficially  acquainted  with  philos- 
ophy, and  with  the  grand  conclusion  to  which 
its  arguments  lead." 


MR.  AGNOSCO'S  ETHICS. 

SEVERAL  sessions  were  devoted  to  the 
study  of  Mr.  Spencer's  ethical  system. 
Monsieur  Chevalier  made  many  objections  but 
the}?1  were  set  aside,  and  he  was  told  to  wait 
until  they  had  gone  over  the  whole  work. 

A  special  meeting  was  devoted  to  a  discus- 
sion of  the  ethics  of  agnosticism.  Professor 
Le  Clair  was  among  the  invited  guests  and 
Monsieur  Chevalier  read  a  paper.  He  dwelt 
on  the  idea  that  Mr.  Spencer's  great  principle 
of  ' '  the  greatest  happiness  for  the  greatest 
number ' '  could  not  be  derived  from  the  maxim 
of  a  general  nescience  concerning  the  world- 
problem.  The  philosophy  of  evolution  should 
teach  an  ethics  of  evolution ;  and  the  ethics  of 
evolution  does  not  so  much  teach  us  to  aspire 
for  happiness,  either  of  self  or  of  others,  as, 
without  shunning  pain  or  seeking  pleasures, 
to  become  strong  so  as  to  be  fit  for  survival. 
He  said,  "I,  for  one,  do  not  think  it  a  sin  to 
enjoy  myself ;  but  if  I  act  with  that  end  in  view 
or  to  promote  my  own  happiness  and  that  of 


MR.  AGNOSCO'S  ETHICS.  13 

other  people,  I  do  not  pretend  to  be  ethical. 
I  think,  too,  that  it  is  very  pleasant  to  do  some- 
thing for  the  enjoyment  of  others,  but  I  do  not 
relish  the  idea  that  a  man,  depriving  himself 
of  comforts  to  provide  for  the  pleasures  of 
others,  should  be  regarded  as  obeying  the 
moral  law.  If  it  were  so,  giving  a  ball,  or 
gathering  one's  friends  for  merry-making  and 
carousals,  would  be  a  highly  commendable  and 
praiseworthy  act.  I  believe  that  immorality 
if  pursued  long  enough  will  always  lead,  if  not 
to  unhappiness,  most  certainly  to  ruin.  For 
immorality,  in  my  opinion,  is  that  which  dis- 
agrees with  the  world-order.  Immorality  is 
that  which  makes  a  creature  unfit  to  exist. 
Morality  is  that  which  fits  us  for  life;  but 
pleasureableness  is  not  a  criterion  by  which 
we  learn  to  discriminate  between  good  and  evil. 
Does  not  our  happiness  vary  with  our  temper? 
Shall  we  have  as  many  different  kinds  of 
morality  as  we  have  kinds  of  happiness?  " 

The  speaker  was  severely  criticised,  and 
attempts  at  refutation  were  made  in  different 
ways ;  though  most  of  them  appeared  more 
like  writhing  under  strokes  that  had  hit  a  vital 
spot,  and  only  one  of  the  debators  was  able  to 
boast  of  having  spoken  to  the  point.  This  was 
Monsieur  Driest,  who  insisted  that  the  contents 
of  life  were  feelings,  and  that  pleasurable  feel- 


14      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

ings  were  desirable,  and  unpleasurable  feelings 
undesirable.  "  We  want  the  former,  and  the 
more  of  them,  the  better.  We  shun  pain  and 
we  have  a  right  to  do  so." 

At  this  moment  a  priest  who  had  so  far  re- 
mained unnoticed,  rose  from  a  seat  in  the  last 
row  of  the  audience.  Mr.  Agnosco  recognized 
in  him  a  well-known  clergyman,  in  fact  one  to 
whose  congregation  his  French  relatives  be- 
longed. He  was  introduced  as  Father  Jerome 
and  he  said : 

11  This  young  man  has  obviously  little  ex- 
perience. Had  he  seen  more  of  life  he  would 
know  that  pleasures  are  not  always  desirable. 
Far  from  being  the  purpose  of  life,  pleasures 
are  its  dangers,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
educator  to  warn  the  inexperienced  against  the 
perils  of  the  sweets  of  life." 

Professor  Le  Clair  was  now  called  upon  but 
he  refused  to  take  part  in  the  discussion  before 
the  nature  of  pleasure  and  pain  had  been 
clearly  denned.  Mr.  Agnosco  replied  at  once: 
"That  is  scarcely  necessary.  According  to 
the  great  Kant,  pleasure  is  a  feeling  that  in- 
dicates growth,  while  pain  indicates  decay." 

The  Professor  remonstrated  :  "  Pardon  me 
sir,  but  this  interpretation  of  the  nature  of 
pleasure  and  pain  is  a  gross  error.  Growth 
frequently  causes  pain  and  there  are  cases  of 


MR.  AGNOSCO'S  ETHICS.  15 

decay  accompanied  by  pleasure.  It  is  true 
that  pain  is  caused  by  disturbances  such  as  the 
laceration  of  tissue,  and  so  whenever  growth 
causes  a  disturbance,  it  will  be  painful.  Pleas- 
ure," he  added,  "is  a  more  complicated  phe- 
nomenon, but  I  might  briefly  say  that  pleasure 
is  felt  at  the  satisfaction  of  a  want." 

Not  wishing  to  let  the  discussion  be  switched 
off,  Mr.  Agnosco  interrupted  the  speaker  by 
sa}dng  that  pleasure  and  pain  are  ultimate 
facts,  and  that  that  ought  to  suffice  for  the  pres- 
ent purpose. 

Professor  Le  Clair,  however,  was  not  so 
easily  silenced.  He  continued  his  opposition 
saying:  u  Even  if  that  were  true,  you  must 
grant  that  the  tastes  of  people  differ.  What 
is  a  pleasure  to  one  is  an  abomination  to  others. 
Accordingly  pleasure  can  never  be  either  a 
guide  in  ethics  or  a  standard  of  morality.  The 
question  of  the  ethicist  can  not  be  ' What  will 
give  most  pleasure  to  most  people?  '  but  'What 
ought  to  give  pleasure  to  the  people?  '  Morality 
remains  after  all  a  question  of  the  ought." 

Mr.  Agnosco  was  on  the  verge  of  losing  his 
patience  but  he  quickly  collected  himself  and 
proved  to  be  master  of  the  situation.  He 
proved,  with  great  adroitness,  that  whenever 
we  did  not  know,  we  were  at  liberty  to  act  as 
we  please.      The  old  gnostics  of  religious  rev- 


16      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

elations  pretended  to  know  much  and  told  us 
many  things  that  we  ought  to  do.  Thus,  he 
declared  with  emphasis,  the  negative  knowl- 
edge of  agnosticism  has  some  positive  value. 
Philosophy  comes  as  a  liberator  from  any  pre- 
tended or  false  knowledge.  It  shows  that  we 
know  nothing,  and  that  we  can  know  nothing ; 
that  all  the  vainglorious  gnosis  of  preacher  and 
priest  is  at  best  guesswork,  and  mostly  even 
fraud.  We  know  nothing  of  any  moral  author- 
ity whom  we  have  to  obey.  Accordingly,  we 
can  act  at  our  pleasure.  Pleasure  is  good  in 
itself,  and  we  have  only  to  avoid  those  special 
forms  of  enjoyment  which  do  others  harm. 
And  this  leads  to  the  great  generalization  of 
making  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  pleas- 
ure of  the  greatest  number  the  criterion  of 
goodness.  Monsieur  Chevalier,  he  added, 
showed  in  this  session  not  only  a  lack  of  logic, 
but  also  of  republican  principles. 

Mr.  Agnosco  was  a  zealous  republican,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
where  he  was  one  of  the  severest  critics  and 
opponents  of  the  imperial  government.  Mon- 
sieur Chevalier  was  a  republican  also,  but  as 
Mr.  Agnosco  expressed  it,  "only  in  name"  ; 
for  Monsieur  Chevalier  did  not  see  that  right 
or  wrong  could  be  decided  only  by  a  majority 
vote.    He  would  apparently  deprive  the  people 


MR.  AGNOSCO'S  ETHICS.  17 

of  their  privilege  of  making  their  will  the  su- 
preme sovereign  of  all  government.  Nor  could 
Monsieur  Chevalier  understand,  on  the  suppo- 
sition of  pleasure  being  the  criterion  of  ethics, 
how  any  one  could  be  obliged  to  sacrifice  his 
own  pleasures  for  the  pleasures  of  the  majority. 

''Granting,"  he  continued,  "that  pleasure 
is  good  in  itself — that  it  is  the  thing  to  be  de- 
sired as  the  highest  good,  I  do  not  see  how, 
by  the  common  rules  of  logic,  you  can  prove 
to  me  that  I  ought  to  sacrifice  my  pleasures 
for  the  majority.  Tell  me  plainly,  why  shall 
we  submit  to  their  dictates?  " 

Here  Monsieur  Driest  joined  in  the  debate. 
He  replied  quickly  and  sharply,  "Our  fellow 
beings  are  sentient  beings  exactly  as  much  as 
we  ourselves,  and  we  have  to  respect  their  sen- 
timents." 

"Well,  then,"  retorted  Monsieur  Chevalier, 
' '  do  you  mean  to  make  sentiment  the  ultimate 
test  of  approval,  so  that  whenever  the  greatest 
amount  of  pleasurable  feeling  results  from  an 
action,  such  action  is  right?  and  that  alone  is 
to  be  considered  good?  " 

"Yes,"  replied  Monsieur  Driest,  "I  do 
mean  to  say  that." 

"I  have  a  farm  in  the  country,"  said  Mon- 
sieur Chevalier,  and  I  raise  sheep.  Do  you 
suppose  the  shepherd's  actions  should  be  reg- 


18      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

ulated  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  living  and 
feeling  beings  around  him?  The  sheep  are 
just  as  much  living  and  feeling  beings  as  you 
and  I  and  the  shepherd  are.  The  sheep  can- 
not speak,  but  we  have  sufficient  means  of 
knowing  what  their  pleasure  is,  and  it  is  cer- 
tain that  they  would  object  to  being  slaugh- 
tered and  eaten,  perhaps  also  to  giving  up 
their  wool,  and  there  are  more  sheep  than  men 
on  the  farm.  The  same  is  true  of  all  cattle, 
and  it  is  most  likely  that  there  are  more  brutes 
living  in  the  whole  world  than  men.  Should 
the  conduct  of  human  society  be  regulated  by 
that  which  we  know  would  be  the  pleasure  of 
the  majority  of  living  and  feeling  beings  on 
the  earth?" 

Mr.  Agnosco  denounced  these  arguments  as 
trifling  with  a  serious  subject,  and  declared 
that  as  a  matter  of  course,  a  limit  ought  to  be 
drawn  somewhere ;  and  he  meant  to  draw  it 
between  the  sentiments  of  rational  and  irra- 
tional beings. 

' '  That  is  a  valuable  concession, ' '  interrupted 
Monsieur  Chevalier.  "If  the  criterion  of  ethics 
shall  be  found  in  the  sentiments  of  rational 
beings  only,  why  not  express  the  idea  thus : 
that  rationality  shall  be  one  of  the  marks  by 
which  we  recognize  a  moral  act?  And,  to  be 
sure,  rationality    could  not  be  decided   by    a 


MR.  AGNOSCO'S  ETHICS.  19 

majority  vote.  We  might  as  well  accept  or 
reject  the  Pythagorean  theory  according  as  it 
pleases  or  displeases  the  majority." 

Mr.  Agnosco  resented  the  sarcastic  tone  of 
Monsieur  Chevalier's  arguments.  "We  are 
little  helped,"  he  said,  "by  witty  remarks 
which  have  no  bearing  on  the  question.  They 
deserve  no  answer;  but,  for  the  sake  of  the 
audience,  I  am  willing  to  respond  to  these  que- 
ries. The  greatest  number  of  rational  beings 
means  the  greatest  number  of  men.  They 
have  a  right  to  enforce  their  will,  although  it 
should  conflict  as  little  as  possible  with  the 
interests  of  the  minority.  But,  wherever  a 
collision  is  unavoidable,  it  must  be  regarded 
as  the  minor  evil,  and  the  minority,  if  need  be, 
must  make  this  sacrifice  to  the  common  wel- 
fare." 

"Exactly  so,"  interrupted  Monsieur  Che- 
valier. "It  is  necessary  to  bring  sacrifices 
for  the  common  welfare,  but  I  deny  that  the 
pleasure  of  the  majority  constitutes  the  com- 
mon welfare.  The  will  of  the  majority  has 
nothing  to  do  either  with  morality  or  with  right 
or  truth.  Suppose  we  make  a  calculation,  and 
I  do  it  correctly,  while  you  all  make  the  same 
blunder,  will  you  maintain  that  my  calculation 
is  wrong  because  you  constitute  a  majority? 
No,  whatever  you  may  say  to  the  contrary, 


20      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

there  is  something  else  besides  the  amount  of 
pleasure  that  makes  things  true  and  untrue, 
right  and  wrong,  moral  and  immoral.  One 
man  may  be  right  in  the  face  of  the  whole 
world ;  and  that  action  may  be  wrong  which 
pleases  the  majority  of  all." 

It  was  shown  to  Monsieur  Chevalier  that  it 
was  very  unlikely  that  all  would  make  exactly 
the  same  mistake.  It  was  granted,  that  any- 
body was  liable  to  make  mistakes,  but  the  mis- 
takes of  many  counterbalance  and  correct  one 
another,  so  that  the  right  would  in  the  end 
necessarily  result. 

A  vote  was  taken  at  the  end  of  the  discussion 
in  order  to  decide  which  was  the  correct  prin- 
ciple of  ethics,  and  the  maxim  of  the  greatest 
happiness  for  the  greatest  number  was  adopted 
by  an  overwhelming  majority  vote. 

Mr.  Agnosco,  after  this  glorious  session, 
congratulated  the  club  on  its  grand  success, 
and  proposed  that  the  members  pledge  them- 
selves to  live  according  to  the  maxim  they  had 
so  enthusiastically  endorsed.  He  himself 
solemnly  vowed  that  he  would  never  fail  to  do 
his  ethical  duty,  and  be  obedient  to  the  behests 
of  morality,  his  ideal  being  the  greatest  happi- 
ness of  the  greatest  number  of  the  society  of 
human  beings  in  which  he  lived. 


fgJ]SH^u 


AT  HOME. 


£  £  T  T  O W  pleasant  is  the  lot  of  an  agnostic ! 

A  iHe  has  made  his  peace  with  all  the 
world,  for  he  grants  the  truth  common  to  all, 
the  orthodox  believer  and  the  infidel  free- 
thinker, the  spiritualist  and  the  materialist ; 
the  scientist  and  the  man  of  practical  life." 

Such  were  the  thoughts  of  Mr.  Agnosco 
when  he  surveyed  with  great  satisfaction  the 
numerous  guests  that  were  gathering  for  an 
11  at  home  "  to  which  they  had  been  invited  in 
his  palatial  home.  The  honors  of  the  house 
were  performed  by  the  Madame  de  Beauchamp 
and  Miss  Green,  the  host's  sisters,  who  were 
assisted  in  their  task  by  Mademoiselle  de  Beau- 
champ,  Mr.  Agnosco's  niece  and  presumably 
heiress  to  his  fortune. 

Mr.  Agnosco  was  a  great  advocate  of  mar- 
riage which  he  considered  a  duty  to  be  per- 
formed for  the  welfare  of  mankind.  But 
strange  contradiction  of  human  nature !  He 
himself  had  never  been  able  to  make  up  his 
mind  to  marry,  although  in  other  respects  he 


22      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

always  lived  up  to  his  principles  with  a  serious- 
ness that  was  unexpected  in  an  avowed  hed- 
onist. 

Perhaps  Mr.  Agnosco  had  learned  caution 
by  the  unfortunate  fate  of  his  sister  who  had 
married  a  jovial  French  nobleman,  commonly 
referred  to  as  the  Baron,  who  though  poor, 
was  witty,  amiable,  and  a  perfect  gentleman, 
with  but  one  fault  not  uncommon  in  aristo- 
cratic circles.  He  was  a  practical  hedonist, 
not  for  the  greatest  happiness  of  the  greatest 
number,  but  for  himself.  Being  wise  and  prov- 
ident, and  knowing  that  the  future  is  uncer- 
tain, he  always  preferred  the  present  pleasure 
to  mere  probabilities  in  the  future,  which  un- 
fortunately imparted  to  him  an  incurable  habit 
of  dissipation. 

Madame  de  Beauchamp's  married  life  con- 
sisted of  a  short  honeymoon,  and  of  a  series 
of  subsequent  quarrels  on  account  of  debts  and 
for  several  other  causes,  alternating  with  pleas- 
ant scenes  of  reconciliation,  based  upon  solemn 
promises  never  to  do  it  again, — always  quickly 
forgotten  and  broken.  But  all  these  troubles 
were  no  longer  considered,  and  only  the  bright 
side  of  the  past  remembered  when  as  a  natural 
result  of  the  Baron's  irregular  life  his  health 
became  undermined,  and  after  a  short  illness 
he  left  his  wife  a  disconsolate  widow,  hence- 


AT  HOME.  23 

forth  devoted  exclusively  to  the  education  of 
her  child,  little  Adelaide. 

Mademoiselle  de  Beauchamp  was  the  perfect 
image  of  her  father, — a  typical  French  beauty 
with  just  a  sprinkling  of  American  tradition 
to  render  her  the  more  interesting  and  attract- 
ive. 

Miss  Green,  Mr.  Agnosco's  elder  sister,  was 
a  quiet  unassuming  spinster  and  a  great  reader 
of  spiritualistic  literature.  She  was  horrified 
by  modern  psychology, — the  psychology  with- 
out a  soul,  and  was  naturally  very  anxious  to 
have  proofs  of  her  immortality.  She  loved  to 
consult  mediums  and  attend  seances.  Since 
the  evidences  there  received  were  always  some- 
what questionable,  she  remained  open  to  con- 
viction and  was  willing  to  acknowledge  the 
truth  from  whatever  source  it  might  come. 

The  great  problem  of  after  life  was  a  favorite 
topic  of  conversation  with  her  sister,  Madame 
de  Beauchamp.  While  Miss  Green  was  an 
enquirer,  sometimes  dejected  by  doubt  and 
sometimes  elated  by  an  optimistic  conviction, 
Madame  de  Beauchamp  remained  always  un- 
disturbed in  her  faith.  She  was  an  Episcopa- 
lian, but  without  strong  prejudices  against 
Catholicism,  the  avowed  creed  of  her  late  hus- 
band and  also,  according  to  a  promise  given  at 
her  marriage,  of  her  daughter  Mademoiselle 


24       the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

Adelaide.  The  latter  attended  church  regularly 
which  was  to  her  an  esthetic  pleasure,  but  to 
the  great  regret  of  her  confessor,  Father  Je- 
rome, she  was  otherwise  religiously  indifferent. 

The  evening  was  decidedly  interesting  on 
account  of  the  unusual  variety  of  people  that 
met  here  on  the  common  ground  of  Mr. 
Agnosco's  hospitality  to  different  views.  There 
was  Father  Jerome,  a  Catholic  clergyman,  and 
Mr.  Dooper,  of  San  Francisco,  the  renowned 
American  medium.  Professor  Le  Clair  gave 
an  air  of  scientific  dignity  to  the  gathering  and 
Monsieur  Driest  by  his  inexhaustible  sarcasm, 
made  it  lively  for  the  conservative  guests  of  the 
party.  The  chief  butt  of  his  jokes  was  the 
aged  Father  Jerome,  and  Mademoiselle  de 
Beauchamp  seemed  to  enjoy  these  tilts,  for  the 
father  confessor  was  much  too  serious  for  her 
frolicsome  temper.  She  was  wont  to  obey  him, 
however,  because  he  assumed  authority  over 
her;  and  womanlike  she  submitted,  though 
she  did  it  grumblingly.  Now  there  appeared 
a  man  who  dared  her  tyrant,  and  she  looked 
up  to  Monsieur  Driest  with  admiration. 

At  first  the  cure  was  very  patient  and  con- 
fessed modestly  that  he  himself  had  many 
doubts  and  misgivings  about  the  doctrines  of 
religion  ;  what  kept  him  up,  he  added,  was  the 
conviction  that  the  kernel  of  his  faith  was  gen- 


AT  HOME.  25 

uine,  for  he  felt  it  as  a  living  power,  and  it 
would  be  a  miracle  indeed,  if  it  were  all  error, 
mere  fraud,  or  pure  superstition. 

"One  miracle  more  or  less  should  make 
little  difference  to  you,"  jeered  Monsieur 
Driest,  "  but  it  would  at  least  be  a  miracle  that 
happens  now." 

u  Oh,"  replied  Father  Jerome,  "many  Bib- 
lical miracles  are  repeated  constantly.  The 
miracle  of  Balaam  happens  even  to-day." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  Balaam's  miracle?  " 
inquired  Monsieur  Driest  with  a  provoking 
grin. 

"That  an  ass  talked,"  said  the  clergyman 
almost  in  an  undertone  but  sufficiently  audible 
to  all  bystanders,  and  turned  slowly  away. 

Monsieur  Driest  clenched  his  fist  and  Made- 
moiselle de  Beauchamp  turned  purple  ;  she  felt 
as  though  she  should  come  to  the  rescue  of  her 
hero  who  had  boldly  attacked  her  tyrant. 
"  Pere  Jerome,"  she  exclaimed  indignantly, 
"  I  protest,  I  protest !  " 

"You  are  right,  my  dear,"  said  the  Father 
calmly,  and  stood  for  a  moment  musing,  "I 
made  a  mistake.  It  is  a  bad  blunder  and  you 
have  a  right  to  protest.  It  was  not  an  ass,  it 
was  a  she-ass."  With  these  words  he  walked 
away  to  a  safe  distance. 

Mr.    Agnosco   poured   oil   on    the    troubled 


26       the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

waters  by  stating  that  jokes  could  not  decide 
important  questions,  especially  as  the  opposed 
parties  presented  merely  subjective  opinions 
as  to  theories,  the  verification  of  which  is  ab- 
solutely impossible. 

"The  problem  of  miracles,  as  all  other  re- 
ligious questions,  lies  beyond  the  pale  of  human 
knowledge,  and  in  this  indubitable  truth  I 
occupy  a  middle  ground,  which  makes  me 
shake  hands  with  the  priest,  and  also  with  my 
infidel  friend  Monsieur  Driest.  They  quarrel 
only  because  each  oversteps  his  limits  and  mis- 
takes his  private  belief  for  positive  knowledge. ' ' 

"Excellent;  Excellent;"  applauded  Mr. 
Dooper,  "Mr.  Agnoscohas  spoken  well.  Like 
him,  I  neither  affirm  nor  deny  the  occurrence 
of  miracles.  But  I  investigate.  All  open- 
minded  people  investigate,  and  I  invite  all 
those  who  are  open-minded  to  attend  the  seance 
which  I  shall  give  next  Sunday  evening  at  my 
rooms  at  the  Hotel  d'Angleterre.  But  I  would 
advise  you  to  procure  tickets  in  advance,  for 
we  can  accommodate  only  a  limited  number  of 
visitors. 


ABOUT  thirty  persons  had  been  invited  to 
-Mr.  Dooper's  seance,  and  among  them 
were  Miss  Green,  Mademoiselle  de  Beauchamp, 
Monsieur  Driest  and  Mr.  Agnosco.  They 
were  distributed  in  different  corners  according 
to  some  occult  arrangement  devised  by  the 
medium's  wife,  who  acted  as  general  manager. 
It  was  noticeable  that  she  conducted  affairs 
with  circumspection,  although  to  what  pur- 
pose was  not  evident.  Mr.  Agnosco  was  as- 
signed a  place  between  the  seats  of  his  two  sis- 
ters, and  when  Mrs.  Dooper  observed  how 
Mademoiselle  de  Beauchamp  was  flirting  with 
Monsieur  Driest,  she  said  with  a  smile:  "I 
suppose  the  chain  will  be  but  the  stronger  if  I 
seat  you  together."  She  thought  to  herself 
"Lovers  are  not  counted  dangerous,  they  are 
too  busy  with  themselves,"  and  so  Mademoi- 
selle de  Beauchamp  and  Monsieur  Driest  were 
seated  together  near  the  chair  of  the  medium. 
When  the  circle  was  completed,  Mr.  Dooper 


28       the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

entered  in  company  with  a  venerable  looking 
old  gentleman. 

"  Ah,  Monsieur  le  Professeur!"  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Dooper,  "  Vous  donnez  nous  P honneur  !" 

Monsieur  le  Professeur  bowed  and  proceeded 
at  once  to  make  a  little  introductory  speech  in 
good  French,  saying  that  it  was  scarcely  ne- 
cessary to  introduce  a  man  of  Mr.  Dooper's 
fame,  but  he  did  it  because  he  had  been  urged 
to  do  so.  He  further  descanted  on  Mr.  Doop- 
er's occult  powers.  "Here,"  he  exclaimed, 
' '  are  phenomena  that  have  awed  the  greatest 
thinkers,  and  are  sure  to  throw  light  on  all  the 
problems  of  religion,  science  and  philosophy, 
— the  problems  of  four  dimensions,  of  curved 
space,  of  telepathy,  of  spirit  existence,  of  im- 
mortality, and  so  forth.  Indeed  it  is  probable 
that  the  key  which  will  unlock  to  our  aston- 
ished minds  all  the  riddles  of  life  and  the  uni- 
verse will  ultimately  be  discovered  here  in  the 
mysterious  realm  of  the  human  soul." 

A  warm  applause  greeted  Mr.  Dooper  after 
this  introduction  by  the  venerable-looking  gray 
beard ,  when  he  stepped  forth  before  the  audience 
with  downcast  eyes  as  if  oppressed  b}'  the 
praise  that  had  been  allotted  him  with  such 
great  prodigality.  He  spoke  French  with  a 
decided  American  accent,  and  his  modesty 
made  him  stammer.      He  thanked  his  learned 


THE  SEANCE.  29 

friend  whose  works  on  the  mysteries  of  spirit- 
ualism had  established  his  well-deserved  repu- 
tation, but  protested  that  Monsieur  le  Profes- 
seur  was  mistaken  in  one  point.  u  I  make  no 
claim,"  he  said,  "to  possess  occult  power.  It 
is  true  that  I  have  witnessed  and  experienced 
some  strange  phenomena  when  in  a  hyper- 
sensible  state,  but  I  am  convinced  that  every 
man  can  do  the  same  thing  if  he  only  develops 
his  psychic  powers.  I  do  not  believe  in  mira- 
cles, so  called,  but  I  do  not  doubt  that  many 
strange  things  formerly  considered  as  miracles 
are  in  perfect  accord  with  the  psychic  laws  of 
man's  nature.  I  am  not  a  philosopher,  not  a 
scientist,  I  am  simply  a  sensitive,  and  as  such 
I  offer  myself  up  for  investigation." 

Mr.  Dooper  concluded  with  some  flattering 
remarks  to  his  audience  which  was  exception- 
ally distinguished,  and  then  began  with  mak- 
ing a  few  tests  of  his  spiritualistic  powers.  He 
addressed  himself  first  to  strangers,  and  told 
some  particular  things  out  of  their  lives  which 
no  one  could  know  excepting  themselves,  and 
his  statements  were  always  verified. 

Suddenly  he  turned  to  one  side  and  gazed 
intently  into  the  vacant  space,  as  if  he  wanted 
to  make  sure  that  he  had  no  visions.  "I  see 
there  an  aristocratic  figure  of  medium  size," 
he  said  in  a  whisper,  "  I  can  hear  what  he  says. 


30       the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

He  turns  his  face  toward  that  lady  in  black 
silk  and  exclaims,  'Forgive  me.  If  I  were 
still  living  I  would  prove  to  you  that  I  love 
you ,  I  love  you  only . '  "  Madame  de  Beauchamp 
was  greatly  moved,  and  Miss  Green  cast  a 
triumphant  glance  over  to  her  brother,  as  if  to 
say,  "Here,  you  infidel,  is  an  unequivocal 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  spiritism !  n 

Now  a  chain  was  formed  by  joining  hands 
and  the  lights  were  turned  out.  The  medium  sat 
in  the  midst  of  the  chain,  his  hands  being  held 
by  his  neighbors. 

For  a  time  absolute  silence  prevailed,  but 
soon  strains  of  music  seemed  to  float  in  the  air. 
A  guitar  hovered  over  the  heads  of  the  audience , 
and  was  played  by  unseen  hands.  The  effect 
was  most  wonderful. 

Soon  afterwards  spirits  materialized  and  then 
a  ray  of  light  lit  up  parts  of  the  room  where 
weird  faces  could  be  seen.  Once  there  appeared 
the  face  of  Socrates,  then  an  Oriental  beauty, 
perhaps  Cleopatra;  then  a  young  Greek  hero, 
possibly  Alexander  the  Great.  None  of  them 
spoke. 

After  a  pause  of  absolute  quiet  a  match  was 
struck.  A  hand  was  visible  without  a  body 
but  it  withdrew  at  once  into  the  surrounding 
darkness,  leaving  a  little  lamp  burning  in  the 
center  of  the  room.   Over  the  lamp  the  expect- 


THE  SEANCE.  31 

ant  watchers  beheld  the  dim  outlines  of  a  tripod, 
from  which  a  cloud  of  white  fumes  was  rising ; 
and  there  in  the  fumes  were  dancing  tiny  little 
elves.     The  audience  was  breathless. 

Suddenly  the  elves  retired  and  in  their  stead 
appeared  the  figure  of  a  fine-looking  gentleman. 
"The  baron!  "  exclaimed  Miss  Green.  "My 
husband!  "  shrieked  Madame  de  Beauchamp, 
who  had  been  greatly  agitated  before  by  Mr. 
Dooper's  vision.  Now  her  excitement  reached 
the  state  of  hysteria,  and  she  began  to  cry 
aloud,  "  Come  back,  I  will  forget  and  forgive! 
Oh,  come  back  to  me!  " 

The  scene  became  painful  and  her  brother 
Mr.  Agnosco  who  sat  next  to  her  patted  her 
back  and  stroked  her  forehead,  but  before  he 
could  speak  a  sonorous  woman's  voice  began 
to  sing.  It  was  Mrs.  Dooper  and  her  words 
were  distinctly  pronounced  so  as  to  be  quite 
intelligible  to  all  present.  She  was  soon  joined 
by  several  persons  in  the  audience  to  whom 
the  words  as  well  as  the  melody  were  apparently 
familiar.  Even  Mr.  Agnosco  felt  the  consola- 
tion of  the  song  which  ran  thus : 

"There  is  a  land  so  wondrous  grand 
So  beautiful  and  fair. 
It  is  the  glorious  spirit  land, 
And  God's  own  home  is  there. 


32       the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

"Oh  how  I  yearn  to  see  this  land 
My  heavenly  home  above, 
The  spirit  land,  so  wondrous  grand, 
The  land  of  God  and  love. 

"There  our  departed  dead  are  found 
Thence  do  their  voices  greet, 
And  thither  also  we  are  bound 
And  there  we  all  shall  meet." 

"I  am  all  right  again,"  said  Madame  de 
Beauchamp,  "Do  not  let  me  interrupt  the 
seance !  " 

In  the  meantime  the  tripod  had  disappeared 
and  it  was  dark  again.  Then  a  dim  streak  of 
light  made  visible  a  figure  who  had  been  prom- 
ised before  as  the  veiled  prophet.  The  specter 
glided  noiselessly  through  the  room,  when  sud- 
denly Monsieur  Driest  broke  away  from  the 
chain,  and  with  one  bounce  leaped  upon  the 
mysterious  apparition  clutching  it  tightly  with 
both  hands.  The  ghost  struggled  in  vain  to 
free  himself,  and  Mrs.  Dooper  cried:  "Let  go 
sir,  or  you  will  regret  your  rashness  as  long  as 
you  live." 

But  Monsieur  Driest  did  not  let  go.  He 
shouted  ' '  Turn  on  the  light !  I  want  to  see  the 
ghost  by  light.     I  am  not  afraid  of  spooks." 

The  lights  were  turned  on  and  there  was  the 
medium  in  a  state  of  perfect  collapse  hanging 
helplessly  in  Monsieur  Driest 's  arms. 


THE  SEANCE.  33 

Mrs.  Dooper  rushed  to  the  place  and  began 
to  scold:  "How  dare  you  disturb  the  seance? 
You  impudent  villain  !  ' ' 

"  Impudent  villain  indeed !  "  sneered  Mon- 
sieur Driest,  "  Please  bear  in  mind  that  all  the 
impudence  is  on  your  side.  How  dare  you  to 
impose  upon  us, — you  and  Mr.  Dooper  and  all 
your  accomplices.  I  have  exposed  you  and 
you  ought  to  be  handed  over  to  the  police  as 
frauds." 

With  these  words  Monsieur  Driest  let  go 
Mr.  Dooper,  who  fell  to  the  floor  in  either  a 
real  or  a  pretended  swoon.  His  wife  bent  over 
him  whith  anxious  solicitude  and  was  hiding 
something  in  her  bosom.  Monsieur  Driest 
claimed  afterwards  that  it  had  been  a  mask. 

Mr.  Dooper  was  covered  with  a  white  veil, 
and  was  without  shoes.  He  was  trembling 
with  wrath  but  he  kept  himself  well  under 
control. 

1 '  Playing  the  ghost  dressed  up  like  that !  ' ' 
said  Monsieur  Driest  without  compassion. 

Finally  the  medium  opened  his  eyes  in  a 
vacant  stare  and  wiping  the  perspiration  from 
his  forehead,  asked  in  a  hollow  voice  "Where 
ami?" 

His  wife  was  kneeling  by  his  side  and  all 
others  stood  around  in  silence.  "  Where  am 
I?"  he  repeated,   "I  have  been  in  a  trance. 


34      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

The  last  I  remember  is  that  I  sat  on  that  chair 
yonder,  when  I  felt  the  spirits  come.  Then  I 
felt  a  jerk  as  if  the  veiled  prophet  wrenched 
my  body  from  off  my  soul  and  forced  me  into 
the  grip  of  that  man  there, — an  awful  man,  a 
meddlesome  man,  an  atheist." 

Turning  to  Mrs.  Dooper  he  continued  in 
appealing  tone,  ''You  know,  my  dear,  what 
spirits  do  when  an  impious  mortal  attempts  to 
lay  hold  upon  them.  They  cannot  be  seized 
by  earthly  hands  but  are  compelled  to  substi- 
tute the  medium  by  whose  power  they  have 
been  conjured  up  to  hold  communication  with 
spirits  of  the  living.  Of  course  I  must  needs 
be  found  in  the  young  man's  clutches  when 
he  tried  to  soil  the  garments  of  the  spirits  with 
his  desecrating  touch." 

"Yes !  That  is  the  way  the  spirits  do !  "  said 
Miss  Green  who  was  still  trembling  with  ex- 
citement, but  regained  quickly  her  self-assur- 
ance. "Ghosts  can  not  be  caught.  They  al- 
ways substitute  the  medium.  That  is  exactly 
what  we  ought  to  expect !  " 

When  Monsieur  Driest  saw  a  great  number 
of  the  faces  of  the  audience  nod  assent,  he 
looked  quite  sheepish.  He  thought  he  exposed 
the  medium  and  rendered  all  belief  in  spirits 
forever  ridiculous,  but  instead  the  very  wit- 
nesses of  "the  expose"  remained  as  staunch 


THE  SEANCE. 


35 


in  their  belief  as  ever.  He  turned  to  Mr.  Ag- 
nosco  in  indignation  quoting  Schiller's  famous 
line, 

"Against  stupidity  even  God  will  fight  in  vain." 

Mrs.  Dooper  shrugged  her  shoulders  con- 
temptuously saying :  ' '  Mr.  Dooper  is  fully 
vindicated,"  while  Mr.  Agnosco added,  "I  will 
say  this  much,  that  the  mysteries  of  occultism 
are  beyond  the  comprehension  of  man." 


■ 


*l1*w  *  ' 


ADJOURNED  SINK  DIE. 

PUBLIC  interest  in  philosophical  questions 
seemed  to  be  on  the  increase,  and  the  room 
of  the  club  meetings  had  been  transferred  to  a 
large  hall.  The  sessions  were  always  lively  and 
sometimes  the  discussions  were  very  heated. 
The  quiet  members  who  abstained  from  taking 
an  active  part  in  the  debates  always  had  a  good 
time,  for  it  was  interesting  to  watch  the  on- 
slaught by  Monsieur  Chevalier  and  Professor 
Le  Clair  against  the  agnostic  position  which 
was  victoriously  defended  by  Mr.  Agnosco  and 
Monsieur  Driest. 

Mr.  Agnosco  was  at  first  quite  pleased  with 
Monsieur  Driest  who  always  approached  him 
as  a  docile  apostle,  but  he  began  to  take  a  dis- 
like to  him  on  account  of  the  attention  he  be- 
stowed on  his  ward  Mademoiselle  Beauchamp. 
The  case  had  grown  more  aggravating,  because 
she  did  not  let  an  opportunity  slip  to  encourage 
her  suitor  and  to  show  at  the  same  time  her 
resentment  of  her  uncle's  apparent  reluctance 


ADJOURNED  SINE  DIE.  37 

to  give  his  consent  to  the  young  man's  atten- 
tions. 

Monsieur  Driest  used  to  accompany  Mr. 
Agnosco  to  the  meetings  of  the  Philosophers' 
Club,  and  finally  ventured  to  ask  him  for  the 
hand  of  Mademoiselle  Adelaide.  Mr.  Agnosco 
answered  that  the  two  were  apparently  not  well 
matched,  and  that  a  marriage  would  not  be 
conducive  to  the  general  happiness  of  the  par- 
ties concerned. 

Monsieur  Driest,  always  ready  with  an  an- 
swer, claimed  that  he  himself  and  Mademoi- 
selle, were  the  parties  most  concerned  in  this 
alliance,  and  they  ought  to  know  best  what 
kind  of  happiness  they  wanted.  Though  they 
were  quite  willing  to  recognize  her  uncle's 
authority  as  guardian,  he  in  his  turn  as  an 
agnostic,  should  not  impose  his  views  of  happi- 
ness on  others. 

Mr.  Agnosco  hesitated  to  acknowledge  the 
force  of  Monsieur  Driest' s  argument  but  showed 
his  willingness  to  reconsider  his  decision. 

In  the  meantime  they  had  arrived  at  the  hall 
of  the  Philosophers'  Club,  and  Mr.  Agnosco 
called  the  meeting  to  order,  which  by  an  un- 
toward fate  was  to  be  the  last  one ;  and  it  was 
memorable  for  the  many  quips  and  tilts  on 
both  sides. 

The  subject  of  the  meeting  was  "The  Limi- 


38      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

tations  of  Science ' '  and  Mr.  Agnosco  proved 
plainly  and  without  fear  of  contradiction  that 
man  was  a  limited  being,  and  therefore  the 
range  of  his  knowledge  must  be  limited.  The 
more  the  light  of  science  spreads,  the  more  it 
reveals  the  absolute  darkness  by  which  we  are 
surrounded. 

Monsieur  Chevalier  on  the  other  hand  ex- 
plained the  nature  of  knowledge  to  be  based 
upon  the  tendency  of  our  rational  faculty  to  in- 
terpret a  particular  case  as  an  instance  of  a 
universal  law,  and  so  the  chemist  not  only 
knows  how  the  elements  act  and  react  in  his 
retort,  but  how  they  behave  elsewhere,  how 
they  have  behaved  at  the  time  of  the  formation 
of  our  solar  system,  and  how  they  will  behave 
ever  afterwards. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say,"  asked  Mr.  Agnosco, 
( '  that  man  may  be  able  to  become  omniscient?  ' ' 

"No,  not  at  all,"  replied  Monsieur  Cheva- 
lier, 1 1  but  in  deciphering  the  facts  of  experience 
we  become  acquainted,  not  merely  with  isolated 
items,  but  with  examples  of  universal  laws 
which  reveal  to  us  the  constitution  of  the  uni- 
verse." 

Monsieur  Driest  came  to  Mr.  Agnosco's 
rescue.  "Even  physicists,"  he  said,  "are 
agreed  that  our  senses  are  limited.  We  can 
hear  sounds  only  within  certain  limits  of  pitch 


ADJOURNED  SINE  DIE.  39 

and  we  can  see  only  such  rays  as  possess  def- 
inite qualities.  To  impressions  to  which  our 
senses  are  not  adapted  we  are  deaf  and  blind." 

"Oh,  but,"  objected  Professor  he  Clair, 
"  though  the  fact  is  true,  the  conclusion  drawn 
from  it  is  wrong.  We  do  not  hear  sounds  that 
are  too  low  or  too  high,  and  we  do  not  see  the 
chemical  rays  of  light ;  but  while  the  senses 
are  limited,  man's  mind  is  unlimited.  How 
is  it  that  we  know  anything  about  them  at  all? 
The  answer  is  simple.  Physicists  invent  in- 
struments which  register  sound  waves  of  any 
description,  and  we  make  sensitive  plates  ex- 
hibiting the  traces  of  those  chemical  rays  which 
our  eyes  do  not  perceive.  Mr.  Auguste  Comte 
who  advocated  this  same  principle  of  agnosti- 
cism of  the  limitations  of  science  chose  as  an 
instance  that  man  could  never  know  what  the 
sun  consisted  of.  He  deemed  his  argument 
irrefutable  because  he  was  sure  that  no  chemist 
could  walk  over  to  the  sun  and  put  a  piece  of 
it  in  his  retort.  But  in  the  meantime  Bunsen 
and  Kirchhoff  invented  the  spectrum  analysis 
which  analyzes  the  chemical  elements  in  the 
light  that  they  emit,  and  so  his  argument  has 
been  upset." 

1 1  Though  science  may  unravel  many  things, ' ' 
cried  Monsieur  Driest  who  wanted  to  make 
himself  useful  to  Mr.  Agnosco,  "  there  are  some 


40      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

problems  which  will  forever  remain  unsolvable. 
For  instance, — how  the  world  originated,  why 
it  exists,  and  why  in  place  of  existence  there 
is  not  non-existence?  " 

11  Certainly,"  retorted  the  Professor.  "  But 
you  will  observe  that  all  these  problems  have 
no  sense;  they  are  not  legitimate  problems. 
All  legitimate  problems  can  be  answered.  I 
do  not  say  that  they  can  be  answered  now, 
for  with  our  present  stock  of  knowledge  we 
may  not  be  able  to  answer  them.  Nor  do  I 
say  that  we  shall  ever  be  able  to  exhaust  all 
the  riddles  that  life  offers  us  to  solve.  But  I 
say  that  if  there  is  a  question  that  is  per  se 
unanswerable,  or  a  problem  that  is  intrinsically 
unsolvable,  it  is  illegitimate.  Knowledge  is  a 
description  of  facts,  and  facts  are  the  data  of 
our  sense-impressions.  The  work  of  science 
consists  in  the  methodical  arrangement  of  our 
data  so  as  to  enable  us  to  comprehend  why 
they  are  different  under  different  conditions. 
Thus  we  anticipate  the  course  of  events  and 
learn  to  adapt  ourselves  to  suit  our  conveni- 
ence. All  the  legitimate  problems  have  ulti- 
mately a  practical  purpose,  but  now  you  come 
and  ask  why  are  there  facts  at  all.  That  ques- 
tion is  as  illegitimate  as  if  I  would  ask  you 
why  is  a  circle  not  a  square?  " 

Here  a  difference  of  opinion  arose  between 


ADJOURNED  SINE  DIE.  41 

Monsieur  Chevalier  and  the  Professor  as  to  the 
significance  of  the  illegitimate  or  unsolvable 
problem. 

11  It  seems  that  we  all  agree  better  than  Pro- 
fessor Le  Clair  and  his  friends  imagine,"  said 
Mr.  Agnosco,  "  for  he  must  concede  that  the 
problems  of  infinity  and  particularity,  of  God 
and  soul,  of  immortality,  of  the  purpose  of 
existence,  the  origin  of  life,  the  nature  of  mat- 
ter, of  space,  of  time,  and  so  forth  and  so  forth, 
are  all  illegitimate  because  unsolvable,  and  so 
we  might  as  well  bury  all  our  differences  and 
make  a  fraternal  covenant  for  the  actualization 
of  the  hedonistic  principles  of  agnosticism, 
which  means,  in  other  words,  to  pledge  our- 
selves always  to  live  for  the  greatest  happiness 
of  the  greatest  number." 

While  thus  Mr.  Agnosco  tried  to  make  peace 
between  the  contending  parties,  a  messenger 
brought  a  dispatch  addressed  to  M.  Green, 
member  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  which 
summoned  him  at  once  to  an  extra  session  of 
his  party.  There  had  been,  in  these  days,  a 
great  political  excitement.  Rumors  of  war 
disturbed  the  public  mind,  and  it  seemed  as  if 
the  government  planned  great  enterprises  for 
the  aggrandizement  and  promotion  of  the  coun- 
try 's  good.  Mr.  Agnosco  had  always  opposed 
all  government  measures,  and  at  present  he 


42       the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

was  also  opposed  to  the  imperial  policy.  He 
belonged  to  the  party  that  desired  peace ;  so, 
when  he  received  the  dispatch,  he  was  anxious 
to  go,  in  order  to  make  his  influence  felt  among 
his  friends. 

The  Philosophers'  Club  adjourned  sine  die-, 
all  members  being  too  much  agitated  by  the 
political  news  to  continue  their  abstract  dis- 
cussion. It  seemed  as  if  they  were  now  to 
find  a  great  occasion  for  practically  applying 
the  ethical  principles  of  their  philosophy  to 
real  life.  They  left  the  hall  thrilled  with  the 
desire  to  live  for  the  greatest  good  of  the  great- 
est number. 


THE  GREATEST  NUMBER. 


MR.  Agnosco  hastened  to  the  meeting  of 
his  party.  It  was  only  a  few  blocks  dis- 
tatn,  but  it  took  him  more  than  half  an  hour 
to  reach  the  place.  The  boulevards  which  he 
had  to  cross  were  filled  with  long  processions 
of  people  bearing  lanterns,  flags  and  festoons. 
While  he  was  waiting  for  a  chance  to  slip 
through  their  files  to  the  other  side  of  the  street, 
he  stopped  to  read  some  of  the  inscriptions : 
"  Down  with  the  enemy  ! "  "A  Berlin!"  "The 
people  want  war !  "  and  other  exciting  mottoes. 
When  he  reached  the  hall  where  his  party  met, 
he  found  his  friends  possessed  of  the  same 
spirit.  It  seemed  as  if  the  whole  nation  had 
been  intoxicated  with  plans  of  conquest,  martial 
renown,  and  the  spirit  of  revenge  for  some  un- 
known offences. 

"My  friends,"  Mr.  Agnosco  exclaimed,  as 
soon  as  he  reached  the  platform,  "do  not  be 
carried  away  by  this  passion  of  excitement  in- 
stigated by  an  imperial  usurper  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  strengthening  his  throne.  Consider 


44      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

how  terrible  a  thing  war  is.  Imagine  the  hor- 
rors of  a  battle-field,  the  agonies  of  the  dying, 
the  sufferings  of  the  wounded,  the  sorrows  of 
widows  and  orphans.  Can  you  wish  for  war 
which  inflicts  so  much  pain,  and  has  no  equiv- 
alent of  pleasure?  " 

Mr.  Agnosco  was  roughly  interrupted  by  his 
friends.  One  of  them  rose  and  shouted  with 
a  stern  voice,  "  I  wonder,  my  friend,  that  you 
have  so  little  sympathy  with  the  most  power- 
ful impulse  which  thrills  through  our  souls. 
Do  you  not  care  for  the  glory  and  aggrandize- 
ment of  our  country?  What  is  all  the  suffering 
you  speak  of  in  comparison  to  the  happiness 
of  the  nation?  The  pain  will  pass  away,  but  the 
glory  remains.  Yes,  more  than  this,  there  is 
an  unspeakable  pleasure  in  dying  as  a  hero  on 
the  battle-field  for  one's  country !  If  you  weigh 
pleasure  against  pain,  the  balance  is  greatly 
in  favor  of  undertaking  this  most  glorious  war. 
Who  would  be  so  chicken-hearted  as  to  shrink 
from  sacrificing  his  life  for  the  greatness  of  his 
country,  and  for  the  happiness  of  the  grandest 
of  all  nations?  Our  party  stands  on  this  prin- 
ciple ;  let  the  people  rule.  If  we  oppose  the 
will  of  the  people,  we  shall  lose  all  our  in- 
fluence, and  our  political  enemies  will  point  at 
us  as  unpatriotic  citizens:  while  our  armies 
conquer  our  adversaries,  the  liberal  party  will 


THE  GREATEST  NUMBER.  45 

be  pilloried  as  having  antagonized  the  public 
welfare  and  the  glory  of  our  country.  Let  us 
not  oppose  the  people's  will.  The  people  de- 
sire war;  let  them  have  it.  Let  our  nation 
march  on  at  the  head  of  civilization,  to  rule 
Europe,  and  through  Europe,  the  whole  world. ' ' 

The  people  wanted  war,  and  they  had  war. 
Mr.  Agnosco's  opposition  was  lost  in  the  gen- 
eral excitement,  but  he  was  soon  satisfied  with 
the  course  of  events  when  he  convinced  him- 
self that  the  majority  of  the  nation  preferred 
the  pleasures  of  war  to  the  pleasures  of  peace, 
and  was  willing  to  bear  the  disasters  which  a 
war  might  bring.  It  is  true  that  the  declara- 
tion of  war  was  made  on  a  mere  pretense.  The 
occasion  was  almost  too  slight  for  a  mere  quar- 
rel, but  the  people  dreamed  of  great  victories, 
extensive  conquests  and  rich  spoils.  Every- 
body expected  a  surplus  of  happiness  as  the 
ultimate  result,  so  Mr.  Agnosco,  too,  finally 
joined  the  war  party. 

The  enthusiasm  did  not  last  long,  for  the 
disappointments  came  quicker  than  anybody 
anticipated.  Defeats  took  the  place  of  victories 
and  the  situation  became  desperate. 

*  * 

The  Philosophers'  Club  met  no  more.  When 

the  members  saw  one  another  in  the  streets, 
they    talked   politics   instead   of   philosophy. 


46      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

Only  once  was  Mr.  Agnosco  reminded  of  his 
ethical  principle.  Monsieur  Chevalier  stopped 
hirn  in  the  street  and  asked  him  of  what  use 
had  been  to  him  his  maxim  that  all  actions 
should  bring  about  the  greatest  happiness  of 
the  greatest  number. 

Mr.  Agnosco  replied,  ' '  It  came  about  exactly 
as  I  presaged.  There  are  no  pleasures  in  war; 
nothing  but  pain.  Those  who  conjured  up  the 
spirit  of  war  made  gross  miscalculations." 

Monsieur  Chevalier  replied,  in  a  sarcastic 
tone,  "I  doubt  very  much  whether,  according 
to  your  principle,  the  action  of  the  emperor 
and  our  representatives  in  parliament  is  not 
perfectly  justified.  There  are  pains  enough  in 
war,  and  it  is  we  who  have  to  endure  them. 
But  there  are  also  pleasures  in  war,  and  it  is 
our  enemies  who  enjoy  them.  But  then,  our 
enemies  constitute  the  majority,  and  if  the 
happiness  of  the  greatest  number  is  the  aim  of 
your  actions,  you  ought  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  outcome  of  the  war.  If  I  were  in  your 
place,  I  would  thank  fate  that  thus  it  allowed 
you  to  remain  a  moral  being.  Think  how  im- 
moral it  would  have  been  if  our  nation,  con- 
stituting the  minority,  had  derived  a  greater 
happiness  from  this  ominous  war  than  our  ene- 
mies!  " 

"My  dear  friend,"    replied    Mr.  Agnosco, 


THE  GREATEST  NUMBER.  47 

"you  are  a  scoffer,  but  there  is  more  truth  in 
your  words  than  you  might  be  willing  to  con- 
cede. The  principle  is  quite  correct,  and  if  a 
greater  happiness  of  a  greater  number  can  be 
brought  about  by  our  sufferings,  we  suffer 
justly." 

Monsieur  Chevalier  shook  his  head.  UI 
have  a  different  opinion.  The  happiness  prin- 
ciple in  ethics  is  a  very  good  thing  for  those 
that  are  happy.  It  works  well  in  prosperity, 
but  it  ceases  to  be  of  any  value  in  the  time  of 
trials  and  misfortunes.  It  is  a  very  poor  com- 
fort for  those  whose  fate  condemns  them  to  be 
counted  among  the  unhappy ,  even  though  they 
may  constitute  the  minority." 

Mr.  Agnosco  had  no  time  for  further  argu- 
ment. He  was  too  busy.  u  Those  who  have 
to  suffer  in  order  that  the  greatest  happiness 
shall  be  enjoyed  by  the  greatest  number  ought 
to  do  so  with  resignation  and  in  perfect  content- 
ment," he  said  with  dignity  and  hurried  away. 

There  is  nothing  so  evil  but  it  has  a  good 
side.  The  misfortunes  of  war  brought  deliver- 
ance from  tyranny.  The  emperor  was  de- 
throned, and  the  country  was  declared  a  re- 
public. It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  liberal 
party  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  It 
was  a  great  opportunity  for  Mr.  Agnosco,  but 
he  was  more  disappointed  in  his  hopes  than 


48       the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

before.  The  avalanche  once  started  is  not 
easily  stopped,  and  one  revolution  may  be  fol- 
lowed by  another.  So  the  proclamation  of  the 
republic  was  superseded  by  the  declaration  of 
a  socialistic  constitution  for  the  nation.  And 
this  second  revolutionary  movement  came  so 
unexpectedly  and  the  republicans  who  had  just 
come  into  power  were  so  little  prepared  for  it 
that  the  capital  was  at  once  in  the  hands  of  the 
socialists. 

Mr.  Agnosco  being  the  leader  of  the  repub- 
lican party,  was  arrested.  A  mob  of  ragged 
men  led  him  before  a  tribunal  of  the  new  city 
government  and  clamorously  demanded  the 
punishment  of  a  man  who  had  done  his  best 
to  prevent  a  rising  of  the  masses  to  take  their 
share  of  the  common  prosperity. 

Mr.  Agnosco  protested  against  their  accusa- 
tion. He  declared  that  he  had  devoted  his  life 
to  bringing  about  the  greatest  happiness  of  the 
greatest  number,  and  did  not  see  any  offence 
in  his  aspirations. 

The  chief  judge — a  man  whose  real  name 
was  unknown  even  to  his  nearest  friends,  for 
they  generally  called  him  Dynamite  Jim,  be- 
cause he  had  proposed  to  blow  up  all  govern- 
ment buildings  with  dynamite — said  to  Mr. 
Agnosco,  * '  You  seem  to  be  a  sensible  man,  and 
that  may  save  your  life.  I  am  glad  to  see  that 


THE  GREATEST  NUMBER.  49 

we  agree  in  principles.  Yon  are  known  as  a 
rich  man.  Yon  have  grown  wealthy  by  robbing 
the  poor.  It  will  be  but  just  to  give  up  your 
possessions  for  the  benefit  of  those  whom  you 
have  despoiled.  We  shall  forgive  you  your 
former  trespasses  committed  in  withholding  for 
your  own  benefit  that  which  might  have  made 
many  thousands  happy.  We  will  spare  your 
life  on  the  condition  that  you  swear  to  leave 
this  country  and  nevermore  to  return.  Your 
property  shall  be  duly  used  for  the  great  cause 
to  which  you  have  devoted  your  life.  Instead 
of  serving  to  promote  the  happiness  of  one,  we 
shall  use  it  to  promote  the  happiness  of  many . ' ' 

There  was  no  other  chance  of  escape  for  Mr. 
Agnosco  than  to  accept  the  proposition  of 
Dynamite  Jim.  He  swore  to  give  up  his  prop- 
erty and  to  leave  the  country. 

His  views  concerning  the  happiness  of  the 
greatest  number  were  different  from  the  views 
of  the  ragged  crowd  that  surrounded  him,  but 
the  mob  constituted  the  majority,  and  they 
certainly  must  know  what  kind  of  happiness 
suited  them  best.  When  he  left  for  Havre  with 
the  small  sum  that  had  been  granted  him  by 
Dynamite  Jim  and  his  friends,  he  carried  along 
with  him  at  least  one  comfort :  His  misfortunes 
were  more  than  overbalanced  by  the  pleasures 
which  others  derived  from  his  loss. 


THE  TEMPTATION. 


ACCOMPANIED  by  two  commissioners  of 
.the  Commune  Mr.  Agnosco  was  going  to 
leave  Paris  on  the  Gar  du  Nord,  when  he  was 
greeted  by  Professor  Le  Clair  who  had  come,  so 
he  said,  to  bid  his  old  friend  good-bye.  They  sat 
down  in  the  restaurant  and  the  commissioners 
joined  them  in  a  glass  of  wine.  After  a  while 
Monsieur  Driest  dropped  in,  too,  as  by  accident 
and  while  he  engaged  the  commissioners  in  a 
discussion  of  socialist  principles  now  on  the 
verge  of  realization  in  Paris,  the  Professor 
whispered  to  Mr.  Agnosco,  "We  have  pre- 
pared everything  for  your  escape.  You  have 
simply  to  absent  yourself  for  a  moment  and 
leave  the  station  by  the  south  entrance.  Jump 
into  the  cab  that  is  waiting  for  you  at  the  res- 
taurant on  the  opposite  corner." 

"How  shall  I  recognize  the  cab?"  asked 
Mr.  Agnosco. 

The  driver  wears  a  red  ribbon  on  his  hat  and 
the  number  is  2317,"  said  Professor  Le  Clair. 
1 '  He  will  take  you  to  a  safe  place  in  the  coun- 


THE  TEMPTATION.  51 

try,  where  you  can  hide  till  the  communistic 
regime  has  been  overthrown.  The  days  of  its 
power  are  numbered.  Meanwhile  you  may 
peacefully  philosophize  in  the  solitude  of  a 
garden  home  about  the  unknowable  and  the 
widest  generalizations  of  religious  truth." 

Mr.  Agnosco  frowned.  "  Do  you  mean  to 
say  that  I  should  change  my  conviction  which 
is  so  well  grounded?  " 

"I  doubt  that  it  is  well  grounded,"  retorted 
Le  Clair,  "Your  unknowable  is  a  bugbear  of 
your  own  making." 

' '  Oh !  ' '  interrupted  the  agnostic  philoso- 
pher, but  the  Professor  continued  :  ' '  What  I 
see  and  touch  and  observe  I  can  describe,  so 
as  to  recognize  it  when  I  meet  it  again.  Knowl- 
edge is  description,  and  comprehension  is 
nothing  but  pigeon-holing  a  fact  together  with 
that  set  of  facts  to  which  it  belongs." 

Mr.  Agnosco's  eyes  lit  up.  He  forgot  the 
urgent  demand  of  the  moment  for  the  sake  of 
argument.  "  Look  here,"  he  said,  "All  cog- 
nition is  subsumption  under  a  wider  generali- 
zation ;  pigeon-holing  you  call  it.  Very  well ! 
The  widest  generalization  can  not  be  subsumed 
under  a  still  wider  one,  ergo  it  is  incompre- 
hensible." 

"  My  dear  friend,"  urged  the  Professor,  "the 
widest  generalizations  contain  those  traits  of 


52       the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

reality  that  are  most  general,  and  therefore 
most  common,  and  therefore  best  known.  It 
is  true  that  on  account  of  their  very  simplicity 
they  exhibit  certain  problems  more  patently 
than  less  general  concepts.  Therefore  agnos- 
tics are  mystified  by  them  more  than  by  other 
terms.  But  leave  all  argument  alone  and  think 
of  your  safety.  Be  off,  before  the  commis- 
sioners suspect  our  plan." 

Mr.  Agnosco  was  about  to  rise  when  a  look 
from  one  of  the  representatives  of  the  commune 
made  him  hesitate.  At  the  same  time  he  fell 
to  musing  and  said  pensively:  u  Is  it  right 
for  me  to  flee?  Would  it  not  be  better  to  live 
up  to  the  moral  maxim  that  has  become  the 
ideal  of  my  life?  " 

1 '  Will  you  patiently  submit  to  the  mandate 
of  a  mob  authority?  "  hissed  the  Professor  in 
his  ear. 

"Think  of  the  greatest  happiness  for  the 
greatest  number!  "  replied  Mr.  Agnosco  pa- 
thetically. 

Professor  Le  Clair  ejaculated  some  indistinct 
syllables  on  the  greatest  number  of  villians. 
' '  What  do  I  care  for  the  greatest  number  of 
anything;  I  will  not  be  guided  by  numbers. 
Let  us  submit  to  the  best,  the  wisest,  the  no- 
blest, not  to  the  rabble,  even  if  it  be  the  ma- 
jority.   I  believe  in  quality,  not  in  quantity." 


THE  TEMPTATION.  53 

tl  You  are  an  aristocrat,  a  royalist,  a  reac- 
tionary, a  legitimatist,  a  Bourbon,  perhaps  an 
Imperialist,  but  no  republican  1  "  shouted  the 
zealous  philosopher. 

The  Professor's  temper  began  to  be  roused 
too.  "I  am  a  republican,"  he  retorted,  ua 
better  republican  than  you  are,  but  in  my  ideal 
republic  law  would  rule  supreme,  not  a  major- 
ity. Majorities  are  good  enough  to  elect  magis- 
trates and  representatives  to  decide  on  the 
adoption  of  laws, — but  laws  should  apply  to 
all  alike  without  discrimination,  without  favor 
and  without  spite.  There  should  be  no  laws 
that  make  exceptions.  Minorities  have  rights 
too.  A  republic  that  does  not  respect  the  rights 
of  minorities,  is  the  worst  possible  state  im- 
aginable. Remember  that  wisdom  rarely  takes 
its  abode  with  the  masses.  But  let  us  post- 
pone our  arguments  to  a  more  seasonable  hour. 
Think  of  your  safety !  ' ' 

"Think  of  my  safety?"  queried  Mr.  Ag- 
nosco ;  and  his  voice  assumed  a  heroic  tone, 
"What  did  Socrates  do  when  a  mistaken  ma- 
jority vote  had  condemned  him  to  death?  He 
deemed  it  his  dut3^  to  stay ;  he  scorned  the 
thought  of  flight !  Do  not  lead  me  into  temp- 
tation.    I  will  go  where  duty  calls!  " 

With  these  words  Mr.  Agnosco  turned  to  the 
commissioners,  whose  heads  began  to  be  heavy. 


54       the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

and  reminded  them  of  their  duty  not  to  miss 
the  train.  There  was  pathetic  dignity  in  the 
philosopher's  attitude,  and  when  the  three 
mounted  the  train  that  carried  them  to  Havre 
de  Gras,  he  looked  like  a  man  that  was  con- 
scious of  having  won  a  victory. 

"  You  see,  Monsieur  Driest,"  said  the  Pro- 
fessor when  they  returned  home  together  on 
the  top  of  an  omnibus,  "  The  end  of  an  action 
need  not  be  the  greatest  amount  of  pleasure 
and  the  least  amount  of  pain  expected  thereby. 
I  grant  that  this  theory  which  you  upheld  some 
time  ago,  holds  good  for  average  cases,  but  the 
fact  is  undeniable  that  the  sense  of  duty,  irre- 
spective of  pleasure  and  pain,  is  an  efficient 
factor  in  the  complicated  mechanism  of  the 
will." 

Monsieur  Driest  groaned.  "It  is  only  a 
peculiar  kind  of  pleasure  to  live  up  to  one's 
principles.  People  attend  to  their  duty  be- 
cause it  makes  them  feel  happy  to  think  they 
are  virtuous." 

' (  Well !  You  may  put  it  that  way , ' '  said  the 
Professor,  "but  then  you  must  grant  that 
there  are  ideas  which  cause  people  to  change 
their  ordinary  views  of  desirability,  call  it 
happiness,  or  pleasure,  or  duty.  And  this 
being  granted  you  will  understand  that  the 
most  important  element  in  a   motive   is   not 


THE  TEMPTATION.  55 

feeling,  but  the  thought  behind  it.  Ideas  are 
directive  elements  which  give  character  to  feel- 
ing. Errors  in  energetic  persons  may  lead  to 
most  lamentable  actions,  and  the  most  super- 
stitious, yea  even  criminal  acts,  may  subject- 
ively be  moral.  Jephthah  sacrificed  his  daughter 
as  a  burnt  offering  to  Jehovah,  not  because  it 
extended  to  him  hope  of  some  future  happiness, 
but  because  he  believed  that  Jehovah  required 
it  of  him.  King  Manasseh  made  his  children 
pass  through  the  fire,  and  we  may  be  sure  that 
he  loved  them.  The  Grand  Inquisitor  con- 
demned many  heretics  to  the  most  dreadful 
torture  because  his  conception  of  God  required 
it  so.  Giordano  Bruno,  rather  than  recant  his 
philosophy,  allowed  himself  to  be  burned 
alive." 

1 '  They  must  have  expected  a  great  reward 
in  heaven,"  retorted  Monsieur  Driest,  uit 
would  be  unnatural  for  any  being  to  act  other- 
wise than  seeking  pleasure  or  avoiding  pain." 

"  My  dear  young  friend,"  replied  the  Pro- 
fessor, "you  judge  the  world  from  the  data  of 
your  own  experience.  Because  most  of  the 
conscious  acts  of  your  own  life  are  determined 
by  the  principle  of  seeking  pleasure  or  avoid- 
ing pain,  you  think  all  actions  are  such.  It 
is  a  wrong  generalization.  A  fighting  cock 
fights  at  the  sight  of  his  rival,  even  if  he  is 


56      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

sure  to  be  defeated  without  any  ulterior  thought 
of  pleasure  or  pain.  The  fighting  impulse  is 
in  him,  and  he  fights  when  sufficiently  insti- 
gated. These  motor  ideas  are  like  wound-up 
springs  which  work  according  to  their  nature 
when  the  proper  button  is  pushed.  It  is  true 
that  men  will  always  be  influenced  by  a  crav- 
ing for  pleasure  and  a  fear  of  pain,  but  pleasure 
and  pain  are  not  the  sole  motives  that  sway 
man's  mind." 

After  a  short  pause,  while  Monsieur  Driest 
was  still  pondering  these  arguments,  the  Pro- 
fessor added,  "He  is  a  weakling  who  is  guided 
by  a  consideration  of  pleasure  and  pain  alone ! 
A  man  of  character  is  willing  to  bear  sacrifices 
for  his  ideals.  This  is  not  a  question  of  theory 
but  a  mere  statement  of  fact ;  and,"  added  he, 
1 '  this  is  the  reason  that  it  is  so  important  that 
we  have  the  right  kind  of  ideas,  the  right  kind 
of  religion,  the  right  kind  of  philosophy.  I 
have  a  great  respect  for  Mr.  Agnosco.  He 
has  a  noble  heart,  but  he  sacrifices  himself  for 
a  will-o'the-wisp." 

Monsieur  Driest  had  always  been  a  foe  of 
religion  in  any  form,  so  he  objected  to  Profes- 
sor Le  Clair's  mentioning  religion  and  philos- 
ophy in  one  breath  as  if  they  were  the  same 
in  kind  and  similar ;  but  the  Professor,  though 
himself  a  lib  re  penseur  insisted  that  such  was 


THE  TEMPTATION.  57 

the  case,  for  every  religion  as  well  as  every 
philosophy  is  a  world-conception,  the  leading 
ideas  of  which  determine  our  actions.  Relig- 
ions are  popular  philosophies  and  religious 
truths  are  mostly  stated  in  allegories,  some- 
times in  myths,  or  in  dogmatic  symbols.  It 
is  difficult  to  avoid  symbolism  even  in  science 
and  philosophy.  Religions  are  approximations 
to  truth.  The  history  of  religion  is  an  inter- 
esting chapter  in  the  gradual  advance  of  civil- 
ization, for  religion  reflects  the  world-concep- 
tion of  the  average  mind,  practically  applied 
to  moral  conduct. 

' '  What  a  queer  man  you  are !  ' '  replied 
Monsieur  Driest,  li  Sometimes  you  are  so  rad- 
ical in  your  views,  and  then  again  you  would 
furnish  an  excuse  for,  or  even  a  defense  of 
such  a  fraud  as  religion." 

The  omnibus  had  reached  the  Place  de  la 
Madeleine,  and  the  two  men  separated.  The 
Professor  went  to  his  study  while  Monsieur 
Driest  loitered  along  the  Boulevards,  and 
finally  bent  his  way  to  his  favorite  resort,  the 
Moztlin  Rouge. 


FURTHER  DEVELOPMENTS. 

WHILE  passing  through  some  narrow 
street,  he  entered  the  second  class  res- 
taurant to  take  some  refreshments  and  there 
he  joined  two  young  fellows  in  a  debate  on 
socialism.  He  loved  to  preach  his  doctrines 
to  others  and  usually  did  so  with  success,  but 
this  time  he  had  reason  to  regret  it,  for  some 
ruffians  who  had  listened  to  his  talk  suspected 
him  of  being  a  German  spy,  on  account  of  his 
foreign  accent.  He  tried  in  vain  to  tell  them 
who  he  was  and  that  he  had  devoted  his  life  to 
the  emancipation  of  the  downtrodden  classes. 
His  assailants  would  listen  to  no  arguments 
and  answered  him  with  blows. 

Monsieur  Driest  had  frequently  denounced 
the  authorities  for  interfering  with  the  people ; 
he  often  claimed  that  no  government  was 
needed  for  keeping  order  in  society,  and  now 
he  actually  shouted  for  the  police.  But  in 
vain ;  no  officer  was  near  to  rescue  him  from 
the  hands  of  the  mob.  Finally  he  made  a  bold 
dash  for  liberty  and  broke  through  the  circle 


FURTHER  DEVELOPMENTS.  59 

of  his  opponents.  Being  hotly  pursued,  he 
ran  for  his  life,  and  gained  indeed  a  little  head- 
way. On  turning  a  street  corner,  he  succeeded 
in  hiding  unobserved  in  a  little  church  the 
doors  of  which  were  just  being  shut  at  the  very 
moment  he  reached  the  place. 

All  was  the  work  of  a  moment.  The  fugitive 
entered,  the  janitor  bolted  the  door  and  the 
mob  swept  past  the  church  howling  for  the 
German  spy  who  had  disappeared  as  if  spirited 
away  by  magic. 

The  cure  of  the  church  together  with  a 
brother  clergyman  happened  to  stand  near  the 
entrance  j  and  both  understood  at  once  the 
situation.  The  latter  was  Father  Jerome.  He 
at  once  recognized  Monsieur  Driest  and  intro- 
duced him  to  the  cure  who  was  at  first  some- 
what shocked,  for  Monsieur  Driest  was  well 
known  as  a  public  speaker,  perhaps  better  as 
a  demagogue,  to  use  the  term  which  conserva- 
tive people  applied  to  him,  and  also  a  contribu- 
tor to  the  anti-religious  press.  There  stood 
the  fanatical  friend  of  the  downtrodden  masses 
terrified  by  the  mob  and  pleading  for  protection. 
The  cure  then  took  this  outspoken  enemy  of 
the  Church  to  the  parsonage  and  Father  Jerome 
washed  his  wounds:  "Who  would  have 
thought,"   said   the   good   Samaritan,    "that 


60      the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

Monsieur  Driest  would  ever  in  his  life  seek  ref- 
uge in  a  church ! ' ' 

It  was  time  for  lunch  and  the  cure  invited 
his  two  guests  to  share  his  frugal  cheer.  There 
they  sat,  these  three  unequal  men  :  the  host,  a 
simple-minded  believer  in  all  the  doctrines  of 
his  Church ;  Father  Jerome,  an  educated  man 
who  in  spite  of  his  doubts  preserved  his  alle- 
giance to  the  Church  on  account  of  his  respect 
for  tradition ;  and  the  infidel  agnostic  and 
scoffer. 

In  response  to  some  jokes  of  the  two  clergy- 
men, Monsieur  Driest  set  forth  his  philosoph- 
ical view  that  we  could  neither  affirm  nor  deny 
anything  relating  to  the  chief  problems  of  re- 
ligion, to  which  quite  unexpectedly  to  Mon- 
sieur Driest  both  priests  uni  sono  consented, 
only  they  applied  the  doctrine  in  the  opposite 
way. 

"Look  here,"  said  the  cure,  "I  have  seen 
a  good  deal  of  life  and  I  know  that  man  can 
not  comprehend  the  world,  nor  its  Maker,  nor 
his  own  being,  nor  even  his  purpose  in  life  and 
his  fate  after  death.  There  is  no  man  on  earth 
who  will  ever  find  out  anything  about  it.  Now 
there  is  this  powerful  institution,  the  Church ; 
it  is  an  answer  for  every  question,  it  tells  me 
what  to  do,  its  teachings  give  millions  of  souls 
comfort,  its  saints  have  performed  miracles." 


FURTHER  DEVELOPMENTS.  61 


a 


Yes,  miracles,"  repeated  the  cure  when 
he  saw  a  sarcastic  curl  on  the  lips  of  Monsieur 
Driest.  "  I  believe  in  miracles.  It  is  easier 
to  believe  in  miracles  than  in  all  the  contra- 
dictory nonsense  of  science,  that  mollusks 
change  into  quadrupeds  and  monkeys  into  men, 
or  what  not.  Science  is  the  biggest  humbug 
the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  all  the  esprits 
forts  bow  down  before  this  Moloch  of  modern 
paganism  in  idolatrous  worship.  Laugh  at 
me  as  you  please,  but  you  confess  yourself 
that  no  one  knows,  that  no  one  can  ever 
know.  I  will  tell  you  why,  because  the  world 
is  full  of  miracles  and  you  can  not  comprehend 
miracles.  This  is  a  practical  philosophy  based 
upon  the  facts  of  experience.  So  far  as  I  am 
concerned  no  one  can  refute  me  on  my  own 
grounds." 

Not  knowing  how  to  contradict,  Monsieur 
Driest  made  no  reply ;  the  ostentatious  asser- 
tiveness  to  which  he  was  ordinarily  addicted 
had  received  a  damper  through  the  awkward 
situation  that  forced  him  to  accept  the  hospi- 
tality of  his  antagonist,  and  Father  Jerome 
said:  "I  should  not  have  thought  that  you 
two  would  agree  so  well.  Your  practical  phi- 
losophy or  pragmaticism  as  it  might  be  called, 
is  nothing  but  agnosticism  turned  back." 

" Surely,"  assented  the  cure,   "the  agnos- 


62       the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

tics  have  made  the  glove  that  fits  my  hand,  but 
the  glove  must  be  reversed  before  I  can  use  it. 
I  am  not  a  thinker,  I  am  a  man  of  common 
sense.  I  am  not  yet  *  sicklied  o'er  with  the 
pale  cast  of  thought.'  I  am  too  healthy  for 
that.  You  know  the  fall  of  man  is  due  to  his 
eating  of  the  tree  of  knowledge.  Thinking  is 
the  original  sin,  and  science  is  the  height  of 
human  vanity.  Man  wants  to  be  like  God, 
knowing  what  is  good  and  evil.  I  tell  you 
man  can  not  know  everything,  but  can  obey 
and  he  ought  to  obey.  Man  can  do  his  duty. 
I  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  the  pretenses 
of  science,  but  now  agnosticism  comes  to  my 
assistance  and  proclaims  the  bankruptcy  of 
science.  I  accept  agnosticism  as  an  assured 
truth,  and  upon  this  rock  I  build  my  prag- 
matic philosophy." 

Father  Jerome  shook  his  head  but  said  noth- 
ing. He  did  not  agree  with  the  cure,  yet  he 
did  not  want  to  come  to  the  assistance  of  Mon- 
sieur Driest. 

Monsieur  Driest  left  the  parsonage  in  a 
puzzled  state  of  mind.  He  believed  in  egotism 
and  would  justify  the  extremest  claims  of  ego- 
tism, but  here  his  egotism  had  failed  somehow 
and  he  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  The 
more  he  thought  of  it,  however,  the  more  he 
became  confirmed  that  all  the  kindness  he  had 


FURTHER  DEVELOPMENTS.  63 

just  received  was  mere  hypocrisy.  '  There 
are  no  white  ravens,"  he  murmured  between 
his  teeth,  "and  if  there  are,  they  are  the  ex- 
ceptions which  prove  the  rule." 

That  same  afternoon  he  and  Mademoiselle 
Beauchamp  went  to  a  magistrate  in  the  Palais 
de  Ville  to  be  duly  married.  During  the  trial 
of  her  uncle,  she  had,  with  the  assistance  of 
her  mother  and  aunt,  cleverly  taken  possession 
of  the  greatest  part  of  his  bonds  and  other  in- 
vestments, and  had  them  deposited  in  a  bank 
in  Brussels.  After  Mr.  Green's  departure 
they  had  at  once  divided  the  spoil  evenly 
among  themselves,  which  left  to  each  one  a 
fair  competence  to  live  on. 

Monsieur  Driest  was  exultant  with  joy  when 
he  was  seated  by  his  pretty  bride  in  the  even- 
ing train  bound  for  Brussels :  "  My  dear,"  he 
said,  "  I  am  proud  of  having  gained  your  love. 
I  hope  you  will  show  me  your  confidence  by 
letting  me  take  charge  of  those  papers  which 
you  have  procured  from  the  safe  of  your  un- 
fortunate uncle." 

Madame  Driest  looked  at  her  husband  in 
astonishment  and  not  without  anxiety  due  to 
fear  of  a  difficulty  which  she  had  not  antici- 
pated. At  last  she  said:  "Please  do  not 
trouble  me  with  business  affairs, — not  now, — 
at  least  not  now !  ' '      She  thought  of  all  the 


64       the;  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

misery  of  her  mother's  married  life  and  the 
thought  flashed  up  in  her  soul  with  a  sudden 
power ;  "  Oh  what  a  fool  I  have  made  of  my- 
self 1  "  It  would  have  been  a  relief  to  her  if 
she  could  have  shouted  these  words  aloud,  but 
she  shut  her  mouth  and  laid  her  hand  over  her 
eyes  to  prevent  her  husband  from  reading  her 
mind. 

Monsieur  Driest  looked  at  his  bride  search- 
ingly  as  he  thought  to  himself :  "  If  I  do  not 
come  in  possession  of  your  fortune,  Madame, 
I  may  regret  that  I  ever  married  you !  " 

The  train  started  and  Madame  Driest  heaved 
a  deep  sigh.  She  foresaw  troubles  which  she 
had  not  dreamed  of  before,  but  she  was  deter- 
mined not  to  yield,  even  if  the  final  outcome 
would  be  a  divorce  I 


-/**■ 


FAITHFUL  TO  THE  END. 


THE  steamer  "  Plaisir  "  on  which  Mr.  Ag- 
nosco  sailed  was  bound  for  some  far  off 
country  in  the  southern  seas.  But  she  never 
reached  her  destination.  During  the  voyage 
the  ship  was  struck  by  a  terrible  hurricane. 
She  foundered  not  far  from  an  island,  and  all 
the  passengers  except  Mr.  Agnosco  were 
drowned  almost  in  sight  of  land.  He  alone 
was  fortunate  enough  to  swim  to  shore.  But, 
alas !  the  island  on  which  he  had  been  lucky 
enoughvto  save  his  life  was  inhabited  by  can- 
nibals. They  captured  him  and  put  him  in  a 
cage  to  be  fattened  for  their  greatest  annual 
festival  which  they  called  "Thanksgiving 
Day." 

The  cannibals  of  the  island  were  unusually 
polite  and  civilized,  and  Mr.  Agnosco  had 
leisure  enough  to  learn  their  language.  He 
attempted  to  convert  them  to  his  philosophy, 
but  great  was  his  astonishment  when  he  found 
that  they  agreed  perfectly.  They  also  believed 
in  the  greatest  happiness  of  the  greatest  num- 


66       the  philosopher's  martyrdom. 

ber,  and  their  High  Priest  took  much  trouble 
in  explaining  to  him  his  situation.  "It  is  a 
maxim  of  ours,"  he  said,  u  to  slaughter  all 
white  men  who  happen  to  be  cast  ashore. 
Their  life  among  us,  if  we  suffer  them  to  live, 
would  be  only  a  series  of  unendurable  annoy- 
ances to  themselves  and  also  to  us.  Accord- 
ingly it  is  better  for  them  to  die  than  to  live 
and  have  a  surplus  of  pains  over  pleasures.  A 
man  has  to  die  anyhow,  and  he  will  have  an 
easier  death  if  he  is  slaughtered  at  the  butcher's 
than  if  he  die  piecemeal  on  a  sick-bed.  And 
if  he  is  dead,  I  can  assure  you  that  there  is  no 
pain  in  being  eaten,  while  the  pleasure  of  eat- 
ing is  indubitable. 

"You  of  course  deny,"  he  added,  "that 
there  is  any  pleasure  in  eating  human  flesh. 
But  that  is  only  your  one-sided  view  of  the 
subject.  I  understand  perfectly  that  you,  in 
the  predicament  in  which  you  are  at  present, 
are  prejudiced  against  our  institutions.  But 
you  will  readily  grant  that  we  must  understand 
better  what  gives  us  pleasure,  than  you  do. 
We  cannot  make  you  the  judge  of  what  our 
happiness  should  be." 

Mr.  Agnosco  was  sensible  enough  to  under- 
stand that  any  remonstrance  was  in  vain ;  nor 
would  it  have  been  a  fair  demand  on  his  part 
to  let  his  own  views  of  happiness  be  the  crite- 


FAITHFUL  TO  THE  END.  67 

rion  of  the  happiness  of  others.  Everybody 
must  know  best  what  gives  him  pleasure. 

There  were  hours  when  he  began  to  doubt 
his  philosophy  and  its  ethics  of  the  greatest 
happiness  for  the  greatest  number,  but  he  put 
his  doubts  down  manfully.  The  theory  of  nes- 
cience had  left  him  adrift  in  life,  and  he  had 
been  victimized  again  and  again  by  the  great- 
est numbers.  Nevertheless  he  could  not  have 
been  mistaken.  Agnosticism  is  recognized  as 
the  most  advanced  thought  of  the  age  in  both 
Europe  and  America  and  so,  argued  he,  "I 
am  but  a  martyr  of  philosophy." 

When  Thanksgiving  Day  came  he  ended 
his  life  with  perfect  contentment,  for  he  was 
conscious  that  he  had  lived  up  to  the  principles 
of  his  ethical  maxim.  He  had  contributed  all 
he  could  to  increase  the  greatest  happiness  of 
the  greatest  number,  and  he  died  a  martyr  to 
his  convictions. 

No  tombstone  marks  the  place  of  his  last 
abode.  But  the  people  of  the  cannibal  island 
keep  his  memory  green.  They  still  praise  the 
tenderness  of  the  white  man  who  furnished 
them  with  the  daintiest — at  least  in  their  opin- 
ion, daintiest — Thanksgiving  meal  they  ever 
enjo3'ed. 

yr 


*mztmp 


Eros  and  Psyche,  A  Fairy-Tale  of  Ancient  Greece, 
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Karma,  Eine  buddhistische  Erzahlung,  von  Paul 
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Third    Edition.      1898.      Illustrated.      Crepe 
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Pp.  93.     Cloth  60c.  net.     (3s.  net.) 

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